Democratic U.S. Congresswoman from Virginia Jennifer Wexton, 55, announced Monday that she will not seek re-election after being diagnosed with a form of progressive Parkinson’s disease.
Representative Wexton currently represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, a competitive area that includes very wealthy Washington DC suburbs such as Loudon County and Fairfax County.
Monday’s announcement follows Wexton’s revelation in April that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s but planned to continue serving in Congress.
Now that she has an updated diagnosis with a more serious prognosis, she is stepping aside.
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a form of “Parkinson’s on steroids,” Wexton described in her statement about the devastating diagnosis.
Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton will not run for re-election after discovering her new ‘Parkinson’s on steroids’ diagnosis
The congresswoman released a statement Monday describing her diagnosis and her decision to retire from the House of Representatives after serving her term through the end of 2024.
“I want to be honest with you now: this new diagnosis is difficult,” Wexton said in her statement, which was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. There is no such thing as ‘getting better’ with PSP. I continue with treatment options to manage my symptoms, but they are not working very well.”
In conversation with the Washington Post, Wexton said: “People I know know I’ve been struggling with it for a long time. I will be able to relax and enjoy the time I have left and the time I have left in Congress.”
When speaking with longtime confidante and chief of staff Abigail Carter, Wexton assured her that she wants to tell her story on her terms.
‘It’s not okay. It’s not okay at all,” she said of the diagnosis. “I’m dying, which isn’t fair.”
Wexton asked her doctor, according to the report, “Can I still run for re-election?” while looking at the brain scan.
‘Why would you want that?’ replied the doctor.
Wexton will serve her term through 2024, but noted in her statement: “I am devastated that I have to give up something I have loved after so many years of serving my community,” she said.
The Virginia congresswoman sought more answers from her doctors after realizing she wasn’t responding well to treatment and discovering she had different experiences than the women in her Parkinson’s support group.
Upon taking office in 2019, Wexton won the midterm elections for the House of Representatives against Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock with 56 percent of the vote. In 2022, she won her second re-election with 53 percent of the vote.
An open seat in Virginia 10 could make for a competitive race in a district that became slightly more conservative in the last redistricting, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
With a deeply divided Congress, the 2024 race could have implications for party control.
Pictured: Wexton shares donuts with voters as a congressional candidate, alongside then-Senate candidate Tim Kaine (center) and former President Barack Obama (left)
Progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, is a condition in a family of neurological disorders called atypical parkinsonism. It affects body movements, walking and balance.
People diagnosed with PSP often die from the disease six to nine years after their diagnosis, with symptoms worsening over time.
The symptoms of PSP can resemble those of Parkinson’s disease and the condition can be initially misdiagnosed, as in Ms Wexton’s case.
However, it differs from Parkinson’s in that it usually starts later in a person’s life, in their mid-60s, and worsens quickly. People with PSP develop severe disability three to five years after symptoms appear.
Wexton is 55 – so she was diagnosed and experienced symptoms a little earlier than normal.
Problems with speaking and swallowing are much more common and more severe in PSP patients than in patients with Parkinson’s. However, it is rare for PSP patients to develop a tremor, a key feature of Parkinson’s disease.
PSP symptoms may include difficulty controlling the eyes and eyelids, loss of balance, slurred speech, difficulty walking or swallowing, changes in judgment, forgetfulness, personality changes, and difficulty finding words.
The condition can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia, suffocation or head injuries from falls. Aspiration pneumonia, in which food or liquid is inhaled into the airways or lungs instead of being swallowed, is the most common cause of death in people with PSP.
People with the condition are also at higher risk for falls and head trauma that can lead to death.
Some treatments that can be successful in treating symptoms in Parkinson’s patients often fail in PSP patients.
There is currently no cure for the condition and there are no treatments to reverse or stop PSP.