Rep. Gerry Connolly Dies at 75, the 3rd House Democrat to Die in Office in 3 Months

In November, Connolly’s victory over AOC reflected a crisis of gerontocracy among American politics writ large, and certainly the Democratic Party, especially as it struggles to appeal to increasingly disillusioned young voters. Ranking member of the Oversight Committee is an exciting and crucial role to publicly challenge Trump and Republicans, as well as ensure efficiency and accountability in the federal government. Democrats on the committee are taking on an especially dire role right now: Trump’s first term was nothing if not a hotbed for corruption (see: his lack of tax returns, or all the suspicious activities surrounding his businesses). In the first months of his second term, Trump and his entire family appear to be profiting massively off scam-y memecoins, while other members of his administration, including Vice President JD Vance, are partaking in their own suspicious activities—so, there’s all that to work with!

Instead, the most attention that Democrats have managed to drum up around Oversight is public concerns and speculation about Connolly’s cancer and now… his death.  

Amid Ocasio-Cortez’s bid for Ranking Member on the Oversight Committee in November, she received endorsements from both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus—caucuses representing key constituencies that Democrats need but are increasingly alienating. The majority of Democrats currently on Oversight endorsed Ocasio-Cortez, too—and understandably so. We’ve all seen her masterfully grill corrupt CEOs and connect with large swaths of the Democratic base online and in real life at rallies that draw tens of thousands. AOC very obviously should have been chosen for this position from the start. But last month, when Connolly announced his resignation, Ocasio-Cortez said she didn’t plan to run for the position again.

Connolly has served as a congressman from Virginia’s 11th district since 2009. In the Obama era, Connolly helped lead House Democrats through the escalating, far-right Tea Party attacks that constantly plagued Obama’s administration, and before that, he worked in local politics in the state. “Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better. He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just,” his family said in their statement. I truly wish them the best. But the undeniable reality remains that it was a selfish choice by someone clearly not in the right condition for such a demanding leadership role, driven by the belief that it was merely their “turn.” And it was extremely selfish for Democratic leaders to indulge that fantasy. Though they’ve done it before: In 2023, Diane Feinstein died at 90 years old while serving as senator from California—all after disappearing from her role for months following a shingles diagnosis; she was 85 years old when she won reelection to a six-year term in 2018.

Connolly’s death also follows news of Biden’s prostate cancer, as well as the bombshell book detailing Biden’s unfit mental state throughout his first term, and certainly as he sought reelection. There are some very obvious lessons for Democrats to learn from this sequence of events, like, say, the importance of passing the torch and not letting the party operate as a Make-a-Wish operation for 82-year-olds to live out their deathbed dreams of holding onto power until their last breath. But whether Democrats choose to learn those lessons remains to be seen.