Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Campaign Files To End Re-election Bid at 88, Prompting Questions About Her Future

WASHINGTON — The campaign committee for Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's nonvoting delegate to Congress since 1991, has filed a termination report indicating she will not seek re-election.

Norton, 88, has not issued a public statement confirming retirement, and her office declined to comment when asked about the filing. The lack of comment has prompted questions about whether Norton authorized the termination report or was aware it had been submitted.

The most recent public notice from Norton’s office, issued Friday, highlighted her successful effort to allow sledding on Capitol Hill, including access for children. The filing was first reported by NOTUS and has been covered by national outlets, including NBC News.

Background And Recent Developments

Norton — one of the longest-serving and oldest members associated with Congress — has faced months of pressure to clarify her plans. In June she twice told a reporter she intended to run again; her office then softened that account, saying no final decision had been made.

"I’m going to run," Norton told NBC News on June 25. Later that day, spokesperson Sharon Nichols told Axios, "No decision has been made. She wants to run but is still discussing it with people closest to her."

In September, Donna Brazile — a former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee who previously served as Norton’s campaign manager and chief of staff — urged Norton to make the current term her last. In a Washington Post opinion piece, Brazile wrote that Norton was "no longer the dynamo she once was" and argued that D.C. needed more energetic representation.

Concerns About Health And An In-Home Scam

In October, Norton’s office told NBC Washington that the delegate had been the victim of an in-home scam in which people posing as a cleaning crew charged nearly $4,400 for services they did not perform. A D.C. police report described Norton as being in the "early stages of dementia" and noted that she had a caretaker with power of attorney; Norton’s office disputed parts of that characterization.

At the time, Norton’s office said the congresswoman employs a house manager who oversees maintenance and that staff initially believed the visit had been arranged through those household channels.

Reaction And Succession

Amid media reports that Norton would not run again, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly praised Norton’s career, calling it "remarkable" and commending her decades-long fight for equal representation. Several candidates have already entered the contest for the D.C. delegate seat, including D.C. Council Member Robert White and former Democratic National Committee official Kinney Zalesne.

Other senior members of Congress in their 80s have also announced they will not seek re-election, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). An NBC News analysis noted that roughly a dozen of the oldest members of Congress remain in the race; before filing the termination report, Norton had been the oldest member definitively seeking another term.

This story may evolve as Norton or her office issues further statements and as additional candidates enter the race.