David Wu, the Oregon Democratic Congressman, accused of an unwanted sexual encounter with an 18-year-old woman, will not seek re-election next year, a spokesman for the Oregon Democrat said Monday. In a letter sent Monday, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi requested an Ethics Committee investigation of the matter.A few hours after the investigation request, Wu spokesman Erik Dorey told the Associated Press: "He's still determining his political future, but he will not run for re-election. He's fully focused on fulfilling his elected duties and serving his constituents to the best of his duties here in the House."
Wu, in his seventh term, was guaranteed a stiff primary challenge after seven staffers resigned in January because of unusual behavior that included sending a photo of himself in a tiger costume to a staff member and an angry public speech. Wu, 56, attributed those actions to a period of mental health challenges that began in 2008 as marital issues led to separation from his wife.
Those problems paled compared to the potential fallout from the encounter with the young woman. Citing anonymous sources, the Oregonian newspaper reported that Wu told senior aides that the sexual encounter in Southern California was consensual. The paper said the woman is the daughter of a high school friend of Wu's who has donated to the congressman's campaign.
In 2004, Wu won re-election despite acknowledging a decades-old college incident in which he tried to force a former girlfriend to have sex. His opponent in the general election tried to use the report from Wu's undergraduate days at Stanford in 1976 to show Wu wasn't fit to serve. The opponent's tactics were regarded as unseemly, and Wu won re-election handily.
Nearly all the public pressure on Wu to step down was coming from his home state. Potential rivals in the Democratic primary have called on him to resign. Mary Botkin, a former Democratic National Committee member from Portland, added her name Monday to those calling for his resignation. She said she has known Wu since the 1980s but his credibility was "so severely damaged" that he should step down. Botkin said Wu's constituents need a "member of Congress who is fully engaged in the issues. I think my friend is not fully engaged."
