Rep. Gonzalez won’t run again, cites ‘toxic dynamics’ of GOP

CLEVELAND — Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, one of the few Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, has announced that he will not seek reelection.

While Gonzalez said he was retiring to spend more time with his family, he also said the "toxic dynamics" of his own party played a role in the decision.

In an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday night, he called Trump a "cancer on the country."

Gonzalez was one of 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Trump after the Jan. 6 riot, which marked the moment Trump loyalists in the GOP turned on him.

He told a podcast: “You know I think I'd probably be a no if he had seen all of this and immediately said, 'Hey, cut this out, here comes the National Guard, we're done, this isn't what I wanted,' but instead we had multiple hours go by and the first tweet that went out was actually attacking the vice president while the Capitol was under siege."

During the same interview, he said, “Now there's some personal safety issues that have come up that are less exciting to deal with, and, frankly, we're still trying to navigate that as a family but in terms of the political consequences they are what they are and we'll manage them as they come up.”

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After the impeachment vote, the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee voted to censure Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez would have faced a primary challenge if he didn't choose to retire.

Max Miller, a former White House aide, announced his plan to run against Gonzalez earlier this year.

Miller was endorsed by Trump at a rally in Wellington this summer.

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Gonzalez served in Congress for two terms.