CA-12 Lantos Retiring

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Rep. Tom Lantos has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and will not be running for re-election.  Here is a bit of background on Lantos and his statement: examiner.com

Lantos, 79, is the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress and is known for his dedication to human rights issues. He is serving his 14th term as a House member.

"It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress," Lantos said in a statement. "I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

I am sad to hear of Lantos's illness.  He has indeed lived a remarkable life, though I differ greatly from his hawkish positions, particularly with respect to Israel.

This does mean that there will not be a primary challenge in this district.  Jackie Speier had already announced that she would be running against Lantos.  I am bummed, that would have been a fun race and one that the blogosphere would have been heavily involved in.  Look for Sen. Leland Yee to also run for this seat.  It is not that often that there is an open House seat in the bay.  This is a deep blue district and it deserves to be represented by a progressive.