Longtime Dem Rep Announces Plan To Retire In Competitive California District

[Capt. Obvious]

Source: Associated Press

Democratic Rep. Lois Capps, now serving her 10th term representing a congressional district along California's Central Coast, announced Wednesday that she will not seek another term.

In a statement, Capps said it was time for her to return to the California community and family that she so loves. Capps succeeded her late husband, Walter, who died of a heart attack nine months into his term.

A nurse, the 77-year-old Capps has served on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Over the years, she has often focused on health issues with legislation that includes increasing the availability of emergency defibrillators, expanding opportunities for people to get into nursing and improving Medicare coverage for patients suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.

....

Capps' district is considered competitive. It included all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and part of Ventura County. She won the November, midterm election by a margin of 3.8 percentage points against Republican Chris Mitchum, who had received little financial help from the national GOP. The race is likely to be a prime target for Republicans and Democrats in 2016. The number of registered Democratic voters exceeds the number of registered Republican voters by about 3 percentage points.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/lois-capps-retirement-announcement

[merrily]

1. Isn't that Oprah's district?

[KamaAina]

2. If that's her legal residence

but why would she take such a huge pay cut?

[merrily]

3. She lives in Santa Barbara. I wasn't suggesting she run. But, she'd be one hell of a good

ally.

[KamaAina]

4. I know she has a place near there

but, like McLoser and Rmoney, she has several. One is on Maui.

[merrily]

5. I know. Turns out it's Montecito, not Santa Barbara, anyway. From wiki:

Residence Montecito, California, U.S. Lavallette, New Jersey, Telluride, Colorado, Maui, Hawaii, Chicago, Illinois, and Fisher Island, Florida

Lavallette's a surprise.

[upaloopa]

6. Montecito is next to Santa Barbara. You can't tell

where on city ends and the next begins without the signs telling you.

[merrily]

10. Thanks.

[KamaAina]

7. Montecito is part of Santa Barbara County

so it is in Rep. Capps' district.

[merrily]

9. I was correcting my own statement about where Oprah lives.

When I said Oprah lived in Santa Barbara, I meant the city, not the county. So, now, we have it straight, I hope: she lives in Montecito, in Santa Barbara County in California. However, that is only one of the homes she owns. So, we don't know for sure where her legal residence is. But, wherever her legal residence is, she might have an interest in helping a candidate who represents Santa Barbara, be it the city or the county.

Whew!

[Gore1FL]

8. That has to be the most awkwardly-worded headline ever!!

I realize it is the Associated Press' fault!