After Illinois Democrat Melissa Bean lost her bid for a fourth House term in the 2010 tea party wave, she rebuffed entreaties by party leaders to run again the following cycle.

Now, 15 years after her defeat, she’s reentering the political fray, hoping to serve as a check on President Donald Trump.

“It’s a time where I think it’s difficult for a lot of people to be on the sidelines and watch what’s happening or not happening in Washington,” she said in an interview. 

Bean is one of a few former members who left the House more than a decade ago and are seeking comebacks in next year’s elections. 

In Tennessee, Republican Van Hilleary, who vacated his House seat in 2002 for an unsuccessful gubernatorial run and until recently served as chief of staff to Rep. John W. Rose, is seeking to succeed his former boss, now running for governor. 

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, who left the House in 2009 to become President Barack Obama’s first Labor secretary, has said she will run for Congress again if the state adopts a new Democratic-drawn map in a November ballot referendum. 

None of them would set the record for longest gap in House service if they win. Of the lawmakers who returned to the House this century, former Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan won election in 2012, some 32 years after the Democrat voluntarily first left Washington. 

In the current Congress, Louisiana Rep. Cleo Fields returned this year representing a newly redrawn Democratic-leaning seat, 28 years after his first House stint ended. Other House incumbents with at least a decadelong gap in service include Maryland Democrat Kweisi Mfume, who came back in 2020 after more than 24 years away, and Hawaii Democrat Ed Case, who returned in 2019 after 12 years.

Former members seeking comebacks often benefit from name recognition and an established fundraising network, but those advantages could fade if they wait too long to run, according to CQ Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales. 

“I’m not convinced normal people can name their current representative in Congress, let alone remember who their Member was from 10 or 15 years ago,” Gonzales said in an email.  

Back in the game

Bean said she hadn’t thought about running for office again until this year, citing a need to “preserve and protect” legislation she helped pass as a congresswoman, including the 2010 health care law and the financial overhaul known as Dodd-Frank. 

She’s now vying for the open 8th District in the Chicago suburbs, where Democratic incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi is running for Senate. Among her primary rivals are Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, who previously worked for Krishnamoorthi and Sen. Richard J. Durbin.

Bean was first elected to an earlier version of the 8th District in 2004, unseating longtime GOP Rep. Philip M. Crane in what was a rare bright spot for Democrats and something of a precursor for the blue shift that would sweep the Chicago suburbs in the years since.

Known as a moderate during her three terms in the House, Bean was a member of the New Democrat Coalition and the Blue Dogs. If elected again, she said she would continue to be a “practical, solutions-oriented representative.” 

Bean touted her legislative record, along with her name ID, as an advantage in a multi-candidate primary. 

“I won’t be coming in as a freshman,” she said. “I think that’s one of the differences between myself, obviously, and the other candidates.”

While the contours of the seat have changed since Bean’s lost reelection to Republican Joe Walsh in 2010, she said the district’s suburban nature has remained consistent. 

“There isn’t a huge change in the makeup of the suburban voters that I would be representing again,” she said, noting that the populous suburb of Schaumburg remains a part of the district. 

After leaving the House, Bean worked in the private sector, including as CEO of the Executives Club of Chicago and at JP Morgan and Mesirow Financial. She said she’s stayed involved in the community through organizations such as the Women’s Leadership Council at her alma mater Roosevelt University and One Million Degrees. 

As she gets back on the trail, Bean said she’s been “pleasantly” surprised how many people remember her and one memorable campaign ad, which featured different people saying “I’m Melissa Bean.”

“I almost feel like we’re picking up right where we left off,” she said. 

Tennessee’s Hilleary entered the Republican primary for the state’s open 6th District earlier this summer, months after Rose announced a bid for governor. The race already includes state Rep. Johnny Garrett, while Brad Gaines, the father of political activist and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. 

Hilleary was first elected to Congress in 1994 as part of the class of freshman Republicans who helped end four decades of Democratic control of the House. But he’s stayed involved in politics in the years since losing his bid for governor in 2002. He unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2006 and worked as a lobbyist before returning to Capitol Hill in 2019, this time as Rose’s chief of staff.

“At the national level, I think our country in many ways is hanging on by its fingertips,” Hilleary said at a July event to launch his campaign, according to the Tennessee Lookout. “Our nation has been on a slow decline for years and that decline has been gaining steam during the Biden years.”

In California, Solis announced last month that she would run for the state’s redrawn 38th District if Golden State voters approve the new congressional map this fall. Solis, who is currently term-limited as a Los Angeles County supervisor, rolled out a list of high-profile supporters for her potential comeback bid, including Los Angeles Mayor (and former Rep.) Karen Bass and California Reps. Judy Chu, Lou Correa, Laura Friedman, Robert Garcia and Luz Rivas. 

“I’ve been standing up for the people – and against Trump – as a Supervisor, and now it’s time to campaign for the House and fight for the people and democracy in the Congress,” she says on her campaign website. 

Lessons learned

Former members who tried to return to Congress last year after extended time away included Indiana Republican Marlin Stutzman and Kansas Democrat Nancy Boyda. 

While Stutzman was able to reclaim his deep-red seat after an eight-year gap, Boyda lost her bid for a GOP-leaning district she represented for a single term that ended in 2009. 

In an interview, Stutzman recalled receiving a recent text from fellow Republican Rod Blum, telling him he was thinking of running for his old Iowa seat again. (Blum served two terms in the House before losing to Democrat Abby Finkenauer in 2018.)

“The only thing I replied back was ‘Do it’ with exclamation points,” Stutzman said. Blum seemingly took his advice, announcing a campaign last week to succeed Republican Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson in the 2nd District.

First elected to the House in 2010, Stutzman vacated his northeast Indiana seat six years later to run for Senate but lost to fellow Rep. Todd Young in the primary.

After leaving office, Stutzman was involved in a number of business ventures, including the Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee, Ind., where he served as co-owner, chief financial officer and executive producer.

When he launched his comeback bid last cycle, Stutzman emphasized his experience and seniority, which he says gave him an edge in a crowded GOP primary. He emerged the winner with just 24 percent of the vote. 

“Our delegation in Indiana is pretty young,’’ he said. “We don’t have the Sen. Lugars and Sen. Coats and the Lee Hamiltons, members who have stayed for years and years.“

Knowing how Congress works provided him an advantage when he returned, Stutzman added: “I would encourage people that have served before, if they still have the fire in them, to run and to serve.’’ 

Boyda, who won her sole House term in the 2006 Democratic wave, later served in the Obama Defense Department and briefly ran for Senate in 2019. 

She said she was prompted to seek her old House seat last year because, as a centrist, “watching our country get so terribly divided is more than I could take.” 

Since losing the race, Boyda has spent time running a small farm that she bought about 11 years ago, raising goats.

“It’s where I find peace,’’ she said. “I would have wanted to win. Being on my farm is a damn good second prize.”

This report was corrected to reflect Rep. Ed Case’s return to Congress in 2019.