“... I’ve always believed that honesty is the most important value in public service, so I want to be honest with you now – this new diagnosis is a tough one. There is no ‘getting better’ with PSP. I’ll continue treatment options to manage my symptoms, but they don’t work as well with my condition as they do for Parkinson’s.
“I’m heartbroken to have to give up something I have loved after so many years of serving my community. But taking into consideration the prognosis for my health over the coming years, I have made the decision not to seek reelection once my term is complete and instead spend my valued time with Andrew, our boys, and my friends and loved ones..." -- an excerpt from Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton's (D-VA) statement announcing her intention not to run for re-election in 2024 due to a diagnosis of Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy, type-p (PSP-P), a neurological disease for which there is no treatment. Rep. Wexton represents a blue- trending "ex-urban" district in Northern Virginia and is one of the more well- placed Democrats in Congress, being on the Appropriations and Budget committees and on a committee combating human rights abuses in China. Pardon us if we seem churlish, but to lose someone of Rep. Wexton's quality and ability while collegial scum continue to undermine our democracy (see below) seems like a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
Rep. Wexton has a husband and two sons. We wish them all the very best.
