We’ve had a lot of Democratic members of Congress make the decision that it’s time to pack it in, that they wouldn’t be running for election in November. When last we left you, the number was 28 who are heading for the exits.

Now add yet another one: Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who represents Nashville, the 5th district. Cooper has been in office for 32 years, but he blames his departure on redistricting, saying that he tried to stop gerrymandering but that he didn’t see a way forward for him to win with the new districts.

From The Tennessean:

Despite my strength at the polls, I could not stop the General Assembly from dismembering Nashville. No one tried harder to keep our city whole. I explored every possible way, including lawsuits, to stop the gerrymandering and to win one of the three new congressional districts that now divide Nashville. There’s no way, at least for me in this election cycle, but there may be a path for other worthy candidates.

Axios reported that Cooper faced likely defeat under the new congressional district.

One of the people who planned on challenging Cooper was Republican Robby Starbuck, who celebrated the news.

When I filed to run, I said we’d make Jim Cooper retire. We did it before we got to Election Day. A new era begins now. In TN5 I’ll fight to put America First, make sure mandates never happen again, fix our economy, hold China accountable and much more! https://t.co/FGvUL6PziQ https://t.co/nW7YWXYi06

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 25, 2022

That makes it 29, at this point, and we may not be done yet. That is four so far in January, including Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA).

Democrats hold a very slim lead on seats in the House. Republicans only need to win five seats to take the majority. With 29 Democrats heading for the door, the Democrats have certainly upped their chances.

On top of that, the polls are indicating more good news for Republicans.

As we previously reported, there was a huge shift in party preference toward Republicans, with a rare five-point advantage in the fourth quarter in a recent Gallup poll.

Additionally, the most recent NBC poll also indicated Republicans held a double-digit edge in enthusiasm and key Democratic groups were losing interest in the upcoming election. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say they are very interested in the upcoming midterms compared to only 47 percent of Democrats who say the same. In the last four midterm years since 2006, parties who held that double-digit advantage in enthusiasm made big gains. The drops in Democratic interest are coming from black voters, young voters, and urban voters. Plus 72 percent of Americans thought the country was on the wrong track. “There is nothing but flashing red lights and warning signs for Democrats,” said one of the pollsters involved in conducting the survey.

The signs are all there for a wave that will sweep House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) out of her speakership and give control back to the Republicans.