In his last year in Congress, Labrador says DC 'just sucks your soul'

Idaho U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador spares no words: “I won’t miss a lot of things about this place. ... I think some people lose their soul here. This is a place that just sucks your soul. It takes everything from you."

In an "exit interview" with Politico Magazine published Friday, Labrador says he is glad to be escaping a “broken” Congress and the “hypocrites” in his own party. You can read Politico's full report here.

In 2011, Labrador and fellow Tea Party freshmen entered Congress intent on cutting spending and scaling back the government.

"Now he’s going home, more disillusioned than ever," wrote Politico's Tim Alberta.

After four terms in Washington, D.C., Labrador decided to leave Congress and run for Idaho's top executive seat, left open by a retiring Gov. Butch Otter. He lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in May to Lt. Gov. Brad Little.

This story was originally published June 15, 2018 at 12:01 PM with the headline "In his last year in Congress, Labrador says DC 'just sucks your soul'."