D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton ends reelection campaign for Congress

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has filed paperwork to terminate her reelection campaign, ending speculation over whether the 88-year-old Democrat would retire.

Ms. Norton has served as the District’s non-voting representative in Congress since 1991.

Her campaign on Sunday filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission, Axios reported. A campaign finance report shows that she had raised just over $2,500 since October and only $7.50 this month.

Ms. Norton could technically file for reelection in the future, but she would have to put to bed suspicions that she is too old to continue representing the District.

That issue came to the fore last summer when Ms. Norton — a fierce defender of the District’s autonomy — was conspicuously absent as President Trump began his crime crackdown in the city.

She issued statements opposing the president’s National Guard deployment and takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, but did not join city leaders in press conferences and public meetings arguing against the crime-fighting mission.

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, a former Norton aide, called on her old boss to bow out of the 2026 election.

D.C. Council member Robert White, at-large Democrat, cited those comments when he launched his campaign for Ms. Norton’s seat.

Others vying for the position include council member Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat; D.C. State Board of Education President Jacque Patterson; Democratic strategist Kinney Zalesne; and Trent Holbrook, a former senior aide to Ms. Norton.

Ms. Norton has been a staunch advocate of D.C. statehood throughout her tenure in office. But the two most recent efforts to support statehood for the District fizzled out in Congress in 2020 and 2021.

Ms. Norton was still at work on Sunday, promoting her work to open up the U.S. Capitol grounds for sledding as the nation’s capital was hit by a significant snowstorm.

“The West Front of the Capitol is widely known as one of the best sledding hills in D.C.’s high-density urban environment,” Ms. Norton said in a statement. “Sledding is a simple childhood joy, and in the middle of winter, it is the least we can allow our children.”