Eleanor Holmes Norton, a longtime civil rights advocate who represented Washington, D.C., as a nonvoting delegate in Congress for 35 years, on Tuesday announced she would not run for reelection.
“With fire in my soul and the facts on my side, I’ve raised hell about the injustice of denying 700K taxpaying Americans in D.C. the same rights given to residents of the states for 33 years. Now, with pride in our accomplishments, gratitude to D.C., and confidence in the next generation, I announced I’ll retire at the end of this term,” Norton, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Her statement comes days after her campaign filed paperwork to terminate her reelection run.
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For months, Norton and her staff went back and forth on whether the delegate was going to mount a 2026 campaign — the 88-year-old is the oldest member in the House, and fellow Democrats and allies for the past year have suggested she retire, despite Norton’s insistence that she was going to run again.
Norton earned the moniker of the District of Columbia’s “Warrior on the Hill” for her vigorous advocacy for statehood for D.C. Throughout her career, she fought for more funding and autonomy for the District and opposed Republican-led attempts to cut funding and undermine the District’s home rule.
In 1990, Norton was elected to represent Washington, D.C., in the House. Her campaign manager in that race was Donna Brazile, another prominent Black woman in Democratic politics who would go on to chair the Democratic National Committee. As a delegate in the House, Norton served and voted on bills in committee but could not vote on the House floor. In 2009, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would give D.C. a voting delegate, but the legislation did not get a vote in the U.S. House.
Despite not having a vote on the floor, Norton stood out for her passionate floor speeches and advocacy for the District of Columbia’s priorities, including bringing jobs and development to the District.
Norton struggled to fundraise in 2025 and the beginning of this year amid concerns about her campaign, and a field had already emerged to primary her this June. After her termination papers were filed Sunday, several local politicians and leaders congratulated Norton on her retirement ahead of her team’s official announcement.
“As a fifth-generation Washingtonian, from an early age I looked to Congresswoman Norton as a model of what public service should be,” D.C. Councilmember Robert White, who is running for her seat, said in a statement. “Her name is synonymous with authentic leadership. When I had the privilege of joining her staff as legislative counsel, I witnessed firsthand how she wielded a seat without a vote to deliver meaningful results for D.C. residents.”
Before her time in Congress, Norton was a civil rights advocate, first involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She eventually worked as a civil rights lawyer, litigating cases on the First Amendment and women’s rights. President Jimmy Carter appointed Norton as the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1977, where she shaped federal regulations on gender equity and workplace sexual harassment.
“Thank you to my constituents for choosing and trusting me to fight for you in Congress 18 times,” Norton said in Tuesday’s statement. “I will leave this institution knowing that I have given you everything I have. And while my service in Congress is ending, my advocacy for your rights, your dignity, and your capacity to govern yourselves is not.”
Politics reporter Grace Panetta contributed to this report.
