Retirements and resignations impact midterms

(The Center Square) – Over the past several months, politicians once regarded as central to their party have bowed out of reelection campaigns or resigned from their positions altogether. In the past week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ended his reelection campaign and Marjorie Taylor Greene left Congress. The two figures appeared central to their respective parties with Walz running alongside Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024 and Greene a key U.S. representative from Georgia. However, a year of scandal (rampant fraud in Minnesota in Walz' case) and party infighting (disputes with President Donald Trump in Greene's) led to their decisions as the country looks toward the midterm elections. Across the country, elected officials have undergone significant changes that will have major implications for the balance of power in the 2026 midterms. In North Carolina, two-term governor Roy Cooper left his position in 2024 with seemingly few aspirations for further office. However, as