Eleanor Holmes Norton — the 88-year-old nonvoting delegate for Washington, D.C., in the House of Representatives — is facing calls from a prominent Democratic strategist to make 2026 her last full year in Congress.
Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile, who was Norton’s campaign manager when she was first elected in 1990 and her chief of staff for eight years, wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Monday that she should not seek re-election during the midterms.
Brazile, 65, called Norton her “dear friend for 44 years,” her “role model and mentor” and “a second mother.”
“But Norton, a Democrat, is now 88 — the oldest current House member. She is no longer the dynamo she once was, at a time when D.C. needs the kind of energetic representation in Congress she provided for decades,” Brazile wrote.
“It’s in her best interest, and the interest of D.C., for her to serve her current term but then end her extraordinary service in Congress and not seek reelection next year,” she added.
Brazile went on to list a number of Norton’s accomplishments in Congress but said Washington “is under attack as at no other time in recent history, and we need a new champion to defend us.”
“After doing so much for D.C. for so long, it’s understandable that she wants to remain in Congress. Public service is her life. But no job can last forever, and no person is irreplaceable. As I’ve told her in person, retirement from Congress is the right next chapter for her — and for the District,” Brazile wrote.
She noted that members of Congress such as Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, 78; Sen. Dick Durbin, 80; and Sen. Mitch McConnell, 83, all decided not to seek re-election at ages younger than Norton.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is the oldest member of the Senate. He turns 92 this week.
Norton said twice in June that she would seek re-election, but her office walked it back both times. Norton told Axios this month that she would “of course” run for re-election — this time, her office did not walk back.
Norton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night on Brazile’s op-ed or Norton’s plans for 2026.
Norton already faces primary challenges from several candidates, including former DNC official Kinney Zalesne.
Norton brushed off reports of criticism this year about whether she was fit to be D.C.’s delegate as the Trump administration placed the district in its crosshairs.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in an interview with The New York Times in June that Norton was “an icon,” but he said that “it’s going to take a new generation of leadership to win statehood and the battles of the day.”
Norton appeared to struggle to walk on her own as she left a news conference about the federal crime crackdown in D.C. two weeks ago. She held on to the arm of an aide who walked her up to the podium and told her, “I’ll be right there.” After she spoke, Norton seemed to hold on to the podium until the aide returned to help support her as she walked away.
Norton has served in the House since 1991. Before that, in 1977, President Jimmy Carter named her the first woman to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.