Rep. Annie Kuster (DN.H.) is leaving Congress with the goal of opening the door for a younger generation of leadership.
“I’m trying to set a better example,” Kuster told the Boston Globe in a report published Thursday about his decision not to seek re-election. “I think I have my colleagues. Some of them are still very successful and productive. But others stay forever.”
Custer gave several reasons for his decision, including President-elect Trump’s run for the White House and his experience during the Capitol riot.
Kuster shared her experience on January 6, 2021. “I said that rather comically. “He tried to kill me once and I can’t do that again.”
“What we experienced on January 6th and his attempt to overthrow our government was a huge blow,” she added of Trump. “It was really difficult, and it was challenging not only for me personally but also for my ability to work across the aisle.”
She said her decision to leave the Capitol was reaffirmed after days of debate centered on an ongoing resolution to extend government funding through March. Kuster referred to the opinions of Elon Musk and other billionaires as a “callous” gesture that he refused to accept as the norm.
“There’s a theme that when billionaires make decisions about the lives of their hard-working families, it just turns out to be mean,” she told the Globe. “My heart is cold.”
Her decision not to run for re-election was made public in March as concerns grew about President Biden’s age and her own re-election bid. Custer said at the time that he was not sure Biden could beat Trump.
“I’ve come to the conclusion in my mind that this is going to be a very difficult campaign for him, and it’s going to be difficult for him to extend his term for another four years,” Kuster said of President Trump.
Despite the Democratic Party’s defeat in the presidential election, Rep. Kuster is scheduled to be replaced by Democratic Party member Maggie Goodlander (38).
“She’s going to be great. I think she will do well,” Kuster said. “Everything worked out well. I think the voters really wanted me to be replaced by a woman. That’s kind of lovely.”
Kuster supported her campaign manager, Colin Van Ostern, in the primary, but he lost by more than 30 percentage points to Goodlander, who is married to Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
