Rep. Darell Issa (R-CA) recently announced he will not seek reelection after 25 years in Congress, joining the wave of Republican representatives who are either retiring or seeking other offices rather than seeking a return to the House.

Issa is the 35th Republican to announce he will not be running for reelection in November, which is the most Republican retirements since at least 1930, according to Rolling Stone. The publication also pointed out that it has now surpassed the number of GOP candidates (34) who stepped down before the midterms during the president’s first term, when Democrats won a 41-seat majority.

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“Republicans know they are going to lose in November,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Justin Chermol told Rolling Stone. “By retiring now, they’re avoiding the inevitable humiliation of losing their seats – and gavels. Good riddance.”

With some Democrats retiring as well, the House reportedly has its fewest number of lawmakers seeking reelection since the 20th century. The representatives of all parties, perhaps, have seen the writing on the wall that voters are ready for change amid dismally low approval ratings for both Congress and the president himself.

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Democrats have high hopes for the midterms, and Republicans, it seems, are starting to agree with them, especially in the aftermath of the president’s deeply unpopular decision to attack Iran.

Last year’s off-cycle elections also saw a slate of historic Democratic victories, which experts say foreshadow a happy midterms for the Dems.

At the time, analysts said the Democrats could not have had a better night, as candidates across the country not only won their elections but, in many cases, made history. In many races, Democrats won by such large margins that news organizations declared winners within minutes of polls closing.

In December, lawmakers and aides said they were expecting Republican retirement announcements to pour in. As Puck’s Leigh Ann Calswell reported at the time, many of the Republicans who had already announced plans to retire are significantly younger than the Democrats who had announced theirs. Republicans in the House, Calswell wrote, have been frustrated by their party’s lack of an agenda and productivity.

Now, there is a new level of MAGA infighting over the Iran war, as well, considering many voted for the president due to his “America First” attitude and his promise not to get the country involved in foreign wars.

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