Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who represents Virginia’s 10th congressional district, will not seek re-election next year, according to an announcement on Monday.

Wexton, 55, who went public with a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in April, said doctors had updated her diagnosis to supranuclear palsy, a much more progressive form for which there is no cure or effective treatment.

“I’m heartbroken to give up something I’ve loved after so many years of serving my community,” Wexton said. “But taking into consideration the prognosis for my health over the coming years, I have made the decision not to seek reelection once my term is complete and instead spend my valued time with Andrew, our boys, and my friends and loved ones.”

Wexton speaks with some difficulty now, according to The Post, and believes the rigors of another campaign — which she had still been considering up until last month — would be far too much for her.

Wexton has a long history of public service in Northern Virginia. A lawyer by training, she served as a prosecutor in Loudoun County and ran for a seat in the state Senate in a special election in 2014. She spent five years in Richmond, tackling issues like the opioid epidemic, healthcare access, Northern Virginia’s notorious traffic congestion, and child safety.

In 2018, Wexton ran for Congress in the 10th District, ousting incumbent Barbara Comstock — the last remaining Republican in the Northern Virginia delegation on Capitol Hill — in what was dubbed a blue-wave election across Virginia and the country that saw a record-setting number of women elected to Congress. Fellow Virginia Democrats Rep. Abigail Spanberger, of the 7th District, and former Rep. Elaine Luria, of the 2nd District, also came to power at the same time.

Wexton’s 2018 campaign foregrounded her support for Medicaid expansion in Virginia, as well as gun safety measures like requiring background checks for gun purchases and banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

In Congress, Wexton serves on the House Appropriations Committee, where she focuses on funding for transportation and housing. She’s also become widely known as an advocate for LGBTQ rights, hanging a transgender pride flag outside of her office and championing bills to ban forms of housing discrimination against LGBTQ people. (Wexton’s niece is trans.) Wexton is a co-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Transgender Equality Task Force.

Another focus for Wexton in Congress has been the plight of the Uyghur people in China, an ethnic and religious minority in Northwestern China which has been the target of scores of human rights abuses by the Chinese government, including forced labor camps. Wexton’s district is home to one of the largest Uyghur diaspora populations in the country. She has shepherded legislation to require companies to disclose connections their products may have to Uyghur forced labor, and successfully passed legislation to ban imports from the area of China where Uyghur forced labor camps are located unless the products can be determined to be untainted by forced labor. Wexton has also sought to speed up the process for Uyghurs applying for refugee status in the U.S.

Her colleagues in Congress speak of her warmly. Fellow Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District, called her “a kind and generous person, a devoted advocate for her constituents, and a fighter for the underprivileged across the country and around the world.”

Spanberger posted a rare selfie of Wexton, Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan, and herself on the House floor.

“She is a true public servant,” Spanberger wrote. “I’m in awe of her bravery, her determination, and her family’s courage.”

https://twitter.com/RepSpanberger/status/1703773515881591250

Wexton’s departure will open up her seat in 2024. The 10th District includes some of the most fought-over political territory in Northern Virginia, including suburban and exurban parts of Loudoun County, Manassas, and Fauquier County. The area has trended blue in recent years, but could still be in play for both parties, particularly in the absence of a well-known, well-resourced Democratic incumbent like Wexton. (Wexton defeated her most recent opponent, Republican Hung Cao, 53% to 47% in the 2022 election.)

That uncertainty in 2024 could be compounded by the possible future plans of Spanberger, whose district extends south from eastern Prince William County into Fredericksburg and Stafford County, an even more highly contested area. Some reporting suggests Spanberger has plans to run for Virginia governor in 2025, potentially resulting in two competitive open seats in Northern Virginia in 2024.