Longtime Democrat District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, has filed paperwork ending her campaign for a 19th term in Congress, months after a police report described her as being in the “early stages of dementia.”
Norton, the District’s nonvoting delegate, was first elected in 1990 and has been continuously reelected with little opposition. Although she said on multiple occasions in 2025 that she intended to remain in the race, Norton filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Sunday, effectively ending her candidacy. News of the United States (NOTUS) first reported the filing on Sunday.
Campaign finance records show Norton’s reelection effort gained little traction in early 2026. Over the first 25 days of the year, the campaign raised $7.50 while spending just over $4,000, according to the termination report. At the time it was filed, the campaign reported no cash on hand.
During the final three months of 2025, Norton’s campaign raised $2,520 and spent just under $5,000, according to an FEC report of receipts and disbursements obtained by NOTUS.
Norton’s health and capacity became a public issue after an incident at her Washington residence in October 2025, when scammers reportedly visited her home and charged her credit card $4,000 for fake cleaning services. A police report filed during the incident listed the delegate as “Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) 88 years old, Black Woman, suffers early stages of dementia.”
A spokesperson for Norton told NBC4 Washington at the time that the allegation Norton suffered from early-stage dementia was a “medical diagnosis” based “on an assumption the reporting officer was unqualified to make.” The spokesperson, however, declined to confirm or deny whether Norton has the condition.
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