Sixth District Representative Bob Goodlatte announced Thursday morning that he will not seek re-election in 2018, 25 years and 13 terms after winning his seat in Congress partly on a platform of term limits.
The powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said in a statement that "this is a natural stepping-off point and an opportunity to begin a new chapter of my career and spend more time with my family, particularly my granddaughters." He did not refer to this week's election results in Virginia and elsewhere in which Democrats made significant gains.