Rep. Frederica S. Wilson will not seek reelection this year, bringing to a close a decadeslong career in Florida politics and decreasing the number of colorful cowboy hats worn on Capitol Hill. 

With her decision not to run for a ninth term, which she announced Friday at a ceremony in Miami Gardens to rename a street in her honor, Wilson joins around a dozen other Democrats over the age of 70 retiring from the House. 

“This has been a journey, but it’s time,” Wilson said. “I know all of you are wondering, ‘What is the congresswoman going to do?’ Well, the congresswoman is going to not seek another term.”

“Even leather wears out,” she added.

Wilson also said she plans to travel the country seeking to expand her signature project, the 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project, which she started while serving on the Miami-Dade County School Board to urge men in the community to mentor at-risk youth. 

Wilson’s 24th District seat, which is based in Miami Gardens, became more Democratic-leaning after Florida Republicans enacted a new congressional map earlier this month, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. Her retirement could spark a crowded primary as ambitious Florida Democrats consider their future with seemingly fewer opportunities to run for federal office. 

Rudolph Moise, a physician and Air Force veteran, launched a campaign for the seat earlier this week, while state Sen. Shevrin Jones has said he would run for the seat if Wilson retired. The Miami Herald also named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert as a potential candidate. 

Wilson said she had been concerned about the future existence of the 24th District, and called it a “big blessing for this community” that it remained intact, although the new version does add some new areas.

She told Axios last week that it was a “crazy rumor” that she would retire and that she still planned on running. But she told the Miami Herald in an interview published Friday that while she had already decided not to seek reelection, she wanted to be “politically strategic” about announcing it as Florida legislators revisited the House map.

The filing deadline to run in August’s House primary elections in Florida is June 12. 

A longtime educator, Wilson has served on the Education and the Workforce Committee, highlighting teacher retention issues and seeking to raise the minimum salaries for educators. 

She is known on Capitol Hill for her tradition of wearing hats. She told Roll Call in 2012 that she started to wear hats to be like her grandmother, whose name was also Frederica. On Friday, she wore a pink cowboy hat adorned with pink and green flowers. 

She worked with then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to create the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, which set a goal to address issues that Black men face before they come into contact with police.

With her district sitting on Florida’s east coast, Wilson has been a regular advocate for hurricane relief funding. She has also been an advocate for Haitian Americans, as she represents one of the largest Haitian communities in the nation. Many refugees fled to her district after the 2010 earthquake. Last month, she urged the Senate to approve a House-passed measure that would designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status until 2029.

Wilson missed several House votes this spring, which she attributed to recovery from a scheduled eye surgery.