Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican who has been active in efforts to discredit Democratic-led investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, announced Wednesday that he won't seek reelection this year. Loudermilk has served in Congress since 2015, the AP reports. He is part of a wave of incumbents exiting the House; so far, 50 are stepping down or running for some other office. "I first ran for election to Congress in 2014 and, as I stated then, representing the people in Congress is a service, not a career," Loudermilk, 62, said in a statement.
Loudermilk added that "it is time to contribute to my community, state, and nation in other ways." The Cook Political Report ranks the district as the fifth-most strongly Republican district of the nine that the GOP holds in Georgia. He was scrutinized by the House Jan. 6 committee for giving a tour of parts of the US Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021. The committee suggested that some tour participants may have been examining security measures. Loudermilk denied wrongdoing, saying it was a "smear campaign."
After Republicans took the majority, Loudermilk led a subcommittee that released a report alleging former Rep. Liz Cheney acted improperly on the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee and calling for her to be investigated for criminal witness tampering. Loudermilk currently leads another subcommittee that is charged with further investigating Jan. 6. Four Republican-held congressional seats in Georgia will change hands this year. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned in January, setting up a March special election. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins are both running for the GOP's US Senate nomination, aiming to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
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