WASHINGTON – Iowa’s Third District Congressman Tom Latham announced Tuesday that there will be no reelection bid for him in 2014.
According to the Washington Post, Latham sent an email to supporters saying he won’t run in 2014. He has served since 1995 as a member of the Republican party.
“It is never a perfect time or a right time to step aside,” Latham wrote in the e-mail. “But for me, this is the time. I want to share with you my decision that I will not be a candidate for any office in November of 2014.”
From Jan 1995 to Dec 2013, Latham missed 112 of 12,950 roll call votes, which is 0.9%, govtrack.us reported. This is better than the median of 2.3% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.
Among the potential GOP replacements listed by the Post are Secretary of State Matt Schultz, state Sen. Jack Whitver and West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer. Potential Democratic candidates include state Sen. Janet Petersen and state Sen. Mike Gronstahl. Former state senator Staci Appel is already running.
Congressman Latham and his wife, Kathy, have three adult children: Justin, Jennifer, and Jill. They also have one granddaughter, Emerson, and four grandsons named Jack, Keaton, Mason and Carson.
