Dan Kildee will not seek reelection to Congress next year

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, will not seek reelection to Congress next year, he announced Thursday, stepping down after six terms and leaving Democrats with another toss-up district to defend in Michigan.

Kildee, 65, said in an email to supporters and on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that after discussions with his wife, children and grandchildren he has concluded "the time has come for me to step back from public office."

Kildee recently was treated for cancer on his tonsil and said he is now cancer-free. Referencing that episode in his statement Thursday, Kildee said: "For most of this year, I saw myself continuing to serve and was actively planning another campaign. But there are times in all our lives that make you reassess your own future and path. For me, being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year was one of those moments."

He said he would continue to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2025.

A member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and, as co-chair of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, a member of his party's leadership team in the U.S. House, Kildee succeeded his uncle, Dale, in Congress in the 2012 election. Former Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, who died in 2021, served in the House for 36 years.

Kildee's departure makes it almost certain that, for the first time since 1977, come early 2025 there won't be a Kildee representing the Flint area. During his tenure, Dan Kildee has been a strong proponent of the city, especially during the crisis caused by lead leaching into pipes and fouling the water supply to residents, helping to secure $120 million for the city to replace pipes and take other remedial steps in 2016.

He has also fought, so far unsuccessfully, to restore pensions for former salaried employees at auto parts supplier Delphi and has advocated for new federal clean drinking water standards as a response to the growing PFAS chemical crisis in the U.S.

“Congressman Dan Kildee embodies everything we want our public servants to be. His love for his hometown of Flint, his district, and the state of Michigan is so clear and shows up in all of his work in Congress," said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is also stepping down at the end of her current term. "Michigan will miss his leadership in Congress."

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, who is leaving her own toss-up district in mid-Michigan open for a run to replace Stabenow, called Kildee's departure "a huge loss for Congress, for Michigan and for me personally." U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said Kildee's "deep knowledge of many issues and his concern for others has made a difference in countless lives and his years of service have benefited our country in many ways."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Kildee "knows the Bay region like the back of his Michigan mitten, and I am so grateful for our productive partnership." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said: "Dan has been a close and trusted friend since we arrived in Congress together. He will be greatly missed."

Kildee has also been a strong supporter of organized labor. On learning Kildee would be leaving Congress, Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber issued a statement saying he "has been in Michigan workers’ corner since day one."

Before being elected to Congress, Kildee spent decades working in local government in Flint and Genesee County, serving as the county treasurer, as a member of the county board of commissioners and on the Flint Board of Education. He also founded the Genesee County Land Bank and served as president of the Center for Community Progress, a national nonprofit.

After taking over the seat his uncle had filled, he quickly established himself in Congress.

But his district — including Flint, Saginaw and Bay City and numbered Michigan's 8th following redistricting after the 2020 Census — has in recent decades been drifting more Republican, as the auto industry and other businesses cut back in the area and laid off workers. President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in the district's confines by a narrow 51%-49% margin in 2020.

In 2022, Kildee easily defeated Republican Paul Junge, 53%-43%, suggesting that even with the addition of Republican-leaning Midland to his district, it's still Democratic-leaning. But political handicappers continue to consider it a possible pickup for Republicans, especially now with Kildee stepping down.

Dave Wasserman, a political analyst with the Cook Political Report, a political handicapping site in Washington, posted on X, "Another tough open seat for Dems to defend. #MI08 moves from Lean D to Toss Up at @CookPolitical."

It also comes at a time when Democrats are trying to defend Slotkin's mid-Michigan seat — with former state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, facing former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, — and retain Stabenow's Senate seat amid worries that Biden's low approval ratings could make that more difficult.

"Republicans are looking forward to flipping this seat red," said Mike Marinella, Midwest spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington.

The only Republican who had filed to run against Kildee next year was Martin Blank, an Army veteran and Saginaw police officer, but it's almost certain an open seat will attract others. While no one immediately announced their intentions, among the names being mentioned in some Republican circles as possible recruits were former state Attorney General Bill Schuette of Midland and former state Sen. Ken Horn of Frankenmuth. Another name mentioned, though he lives outside the district, is former state House Speaker Tom Leonard of DeWitt, who worked as a prosecutor in Genesee County.

On the Democratic side, names being mentioned in some circles were Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bayt City and former state Sen. Jim Ananich of Flint. Also, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley confirmed for the Free Press that he is forming an exploratory committee to look into a run for the seat.

For his part, Kildee said he's not worried and will be part of the effort to maintain all those seats, including his, for the Democrats, who currently have a 7-6 edge over Republicans in the House delegation as well as both Senate seats.

"I am confident that Michigan will reelect President Biden, entrust Democrats with legislative majorities and elect a Democrat to serve Michigan’s 8th District after I retire from Congress," he said. "And while my name will not be on the ballot next November, I will be doing everything I can to help elect common sense, principled and results-oriented leaders."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee had cancer in his tonsil.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @paulegan4. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Kildee will not seek reelection to Congress next year