By Bridget Bowman

CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Denny Heck announced Wednesday that he is not running for reelection. The Washington Democrat, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, cited the impeachment investigation as part of the reason for his retirement.

“The countless hours I have spent in the investigation of Russian election interference and the impeachment inquiry have rendered my soul weary,” Heck wrote in a Medium post.

“I will never understand how some of my colleagues, in many ways good people, could ignore or deny the President’s unrelenting attack on a free press, his vicious character assassination of anyone who disagreed with him, and his demonstrably very distant relationship with the truth,” Heck wrote.

Heck, who is 67 years old, also noted serving in Congress takes a toll since it takes him away from his wife.

“At our age, however many ‘good years’ we have left together is not a growing number,” Heck wrote.

Heck was first elected to represent Washington’s 10th District, which includes Olympia, in 2012. Before coming to Congress, he served in the Washington state House and was a former CEO and broadcaster for TVW, the state’s version of C-SPAN.

The 10th District is likely to stay in Democratic hands. Heck won reelection in 2018 by 23 points and Hillary Clinton carried the district in 2016 by 11 points. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Solidly Democratic.

Heck served as recruitment chair for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2016 and 2018, when Democrats flipped the House. He ran unsuccessfully for DCCC chair earlier this year.