9-term GOP congressman to retire over frustration with current stalemate

PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Republican Rep. StevenLaTourette of Ohio, a nine-term lawmaker and a close confidant of House Speaker John Boehner, said Tuesday he was frustrated with the political stalemate in Washington and won’t seek re-election.

LaTourette told reporters in his district northeast of Cleveland that the political environment in Washington works against compromise.

“It’s been my experience that compromise, cooperation, getting something done, is not rewarded,” he said. “The group of people that are interested in that type of result — the circle’s becoming smaller and smaller.’”

LaTourette cited in particular his support for a bipartisan budget compromise, known as Simpson-Bowles, which got 38 votes in the 435-member House.

“There’s only so many times you can run your head into a cement wall,” he said.

LaTourette was elected during the Republican wave in 1994, when the party seized control of the House after decades in the minority. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

His retirement comes about three months before the Nov. 6 congressional elections.

LaTourette was re-elected in 2010 with 65 percent of the vote. The 14th Congressional District narrowly went for Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

LaTourette joins more than three dozen House members who have decided to retire. Forty-three Republicans and Democrats have decided to leave the House, and nine lawmakers have lost in primaries.

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