The Congressional Chicken Caucus and Senate Chicken Caucus will see few changes in its memberships after the November 8 election.
Both are bipartisan groups of legislators that consist of members devoted to issues affecting the chicken industry and discussing the role of government in addressing current and future industry challenges.
Congressional Chicken Caucus
In the Congressional Chicken Caucus, comprised of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, only seven of its 59 members will not return to Washington in 2017.
Rep. John Carney, D-Delaware, did not seek re-election to the U.S. House, and instead ran for governor of Delaware. He won that race, gathering 58 percent of the vote.
Reps. Robert Hurt, R-Virginia; Reid Ribble, R-Wisconsin; and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Georgia, did not seek re-election. Ed Whitfield, R-Kentucky, had been a member of the caucus, but he resigned from his House seat, effective September 6.
Reps. Renee Ellmers, R-North Carolina, and Randy Forbes, R-Virginia, were defeated in earlier primaries.
The caucus is co-chaired by returning Reps. Steve Womack, R-Arkansas; and Jim Costa, D-California.
Several of the Congressional Chicken Caucus members were unopposed in their re-election bids.
Senate Chicken Caucus
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, is the only member of the Senate Chicken Caucus that will not return for the next term. She chose to retire and not seek re-election.
With the way Senate terms are staggered, only two senators on the caucus had their names on the ballot. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, the co-chairman survived a re-election attempt, as did member John Boozman, R-Arkansas.
The other co-chair of the Senate Chicken Caucus is Chris Coons, D-Delaware.
