One of the most conservative House Democrats announced Tuesday he will not run for reelection next year, leaving behind a western Wisconsin district that has tilted politically to the right over the last decade.

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       Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) decided not to run for another term as Republicans gear up to try to win back the district for the first time since 1994, an easier pickup opportunity without Kind running in a district that Donald Trump won twice after voters there had supported the previous four Democratic nominees.

       Kind, 58, was a founding member of the New Democrat Coalition, an internal caucus that has long skewed toward more centrist economic policy in the mold of Bill Clinton’s presidency. He supported many trade agreements, including the 2015 fast-track authority that allowed the Obama administration to try to negotiate a massive Pacific Rim trade compact.

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       As the district grew more conservative, Kind faced more difficult challenges every two years, seeing his voting percentage shrink from 64 percent in 2012 to 51 percent in 2020.

       “The truth is I’ve run out of gas,” he told reporters in Madison, making the announcement in the third week of a long summer recess from the Capitol.

       Democratic leaders praised his long record without addressing the political hole his departure will leave.

       “When Congressman Kind retires at the end of this term, Wisconsin and America will be losing a public servant in Congress who has dedicated decades to delivering results For The People,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

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       “From ensuring greater opportunities for farmers, to strengthening Medicare for seniors, to protecting western and central Wisconsin’s natural heritage for future generations, Ron has fought tirelessly on behalf of his native Wisconsin,” Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

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       When the dust settled after all votes were counted last year, Pelosi’s caucus had just 222 Democrats, four votes to spare to maintain the majority and a once-a-decade redistricting process that gives a small edge to Republicans.

       After 2020 — Kind’s narrowest victory in his 13 races — Republicans put his district near the top of their midterm target list. They began digging into his personal finances to try to unearth damaging stories, and they vowed to pour more advertising funds into the district to win it back.

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       “Congressman Ron Kind made the right decision to drift off into the sunset rather than face certain defeat next fall,” said Calvin Moore, spokesman for the Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC that spent $2 million against Kind last year.

       Kind is one of seven Democrats sitting in a district that favored Trump last year, while nine Republicans represent districts that favored President Biden in 2020.

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       His departure will probably leave Congress with one less lawmaker who cast both a centrist ideological vision and an overall bipartisan demeanor.

       “I’m part of a dying breed in public service today in Washington and certainly in Madison,” Kind told Wisconsin reporters Tuesday. “Someone who tried to be reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful, worked hard to try to find common ground with my colleagues, work in a bipartisan way to find bipartisan solutions.”