Washington, D.C.’s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), ended her reelection campaign on Sunday.
The development was revealed in a Federal Election Commission filing, which included descriptions of her campaign’s finances. Norton, 88, ended her campaign after heavy scrutiny surrounding her age, health, and mental acuity.
Norton had previously weathered the reckoning around elderly members of Congress, repeatedly rebuffing calls to step aside for a younger candidate. She has served as Washington’s delegate to Congress for over 34 years.
“I’m going to run,” Norton told reporters for Politico and NBC News in June when asked if she would run for reelection in 2026. “I don’t know why anyone would even ask me.”
Several Democrats launched campaigns before she opted against running for reelection, with most centering their campaigns on concerns over her age and health.
Concerns around Norton’s mental acuity were laid bare in October when she was taken advantage of by scammers posing as HVAC cleaners. A police report described Norton as having the “early stages of dementia,” something not previously known. A woman named Jacqueline Pelt was identified as Norton’s caretaker and power of attorney.
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON SCAMMED BY FAKE CLEANING CREW AS POLICE SAY DC DELEGATE HAS DEMENTIA
Norton’s office denied several details of the police report. They objected to the description of Pelt, instead describing her as “a longtime employee and friend [who] serves as the house manager, residing at a separate address.”
Norton’s office also denied she had dementia, saying, “The medical diagnosis included in the police report was based on an assumption the reporting officer was unqualified to make.”