BOWIE, Md. (AP) — U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jerrold Nadler, two of the top Democrats in Congress, are retiring when their terms expire in January, but they will continue to make their imprints on Washington.The pair passed the torch Tuesday night to former aides who won the Democratic primaries to replace them on Capitol Hill, and because both districts are overwhelmingly blue, they are all but certain to win in November and get sworn in to replace their former bosses. Hoyer and Nadler are the latest lawmakers to successfully anoint their successors after spending decades in Congress. Among 68 members of Congress not seeking reelection this year, at least five have endorsed former staffers to replace them and more than a dozen others have, to varying degrees, worked to smooth the path to Capitol Hill for their favored replacements.
The practice can be controversial, particularly when lawmakers try to strategically time their announcement to give favored insiders the upper hand.But even at a time when voters give Congress a dismal approval rating, they’re often receptive to the recommendation of their own representative.
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That was the case for Natasha Greensword, 45, who backed Adrian Boafo in Maryland’s Democratic primary on Tuesday in part because he was endorsed by Hoyer, who has represented the area since 1981. “It was a plus,” Greensword said. There was also a racial component that resonated for Greensword, a Jamaican immigrant. “It did help him to have a white man endorsing a Black candidate and saying he’s got our backs,” she said.
