Georgia GOP Rep. Drew Ferguson to depart Congress in 2024, opting out of reelection bid

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Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson said Thursday he won't seek reelection to his Georgia seat in 2024.

"Julie and I look forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren while continuing to work to keep Georgia the best state in America to live and do business," Ferguson said in a statement.

He said he plans to serve the remainder of his fourth term representing western Georgia's 3rd District, which expires at the end of next year.

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The announcement comes two months after Ferguson said his family had received death threats amid the inner turmoil Republicans faced in electing a new House speaker following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California.

Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Georgia, speaks to the press at a diner on May 4, 2021, in Marietta, Ga. Ferguson said on Dec. 14, 2023, that he plans to leave office after finishing his term next year, saying he looks forward to spending more time with his family. (AP Photo/Ron Harris, File)

The threats came after Ferguson publicly withdrew his support for GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a favorite of hard-right conservatives. Ferguson said he refused to support "a bully" for speaker and that the threats were "unacceptable, unforgivable, and will never be tolerated."

A former mayor of West Point, Ferguson was elected to Congress in 2016 in a district west of Atlanta that hugs the Georgia-Alabama state line. He served in the House GOP leadership as the chief deputy whip from 2018 through 2022 and holds a seat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

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Ferguson's 3rd District seat leans solidly Republican. He easily fended off a GOP primary challenger last year before winning reelection to a fourth-term with 69% of the vote.

State lawmakers in recent weeks redrew Georgia’s congressional map under a federal judge’s order to add a majority-Black district. But the Legislature’s Republican majority produced a map, now pending the court approval, that would maintain the GOP’s 9-5 hold on the state U.S. House delegation and protect Republican incumbents.