Sen. Tom Coburn To Resign At The End Of Current Congress - NewsOK [View all]

[WillyT]

Sen. Tom Coburn to resign at the end of current Congress
By Chris Casteel - NewsOK
Modified: January 16, 2014 at 9:35 pm • Published: January 16, 2014

<snip>

WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Coburn, who has spent a combined 15 years here rooting out government waste and warning about mounting U.S. debt, will resign after the current session of Congress, foregoing the final two years of his term.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, has been battling a recurrence of prostate cancer but said he wasn’t leaving early because of his health. In a brief interview, Coburn said he wanted to focus on the next stage in his life. “I’ve had a lot of changes in my life,’’ Coburn, 65, said. “This is another one.”

In a prepared statement, he said, “My commitment to the people of Oklahoma has always been that I would serve no more than two terms Our founders saw public service and politics as a calling rather than a career.

“That’s how I saw it when I first ran for office in 1994, and that’s how I still see it today. I believe it’s important to live under the laws I helped write, and even those I fought hard to block.”

Coburn’s decision could set off a major scramble among Republicans hoping to replace him. U.S. Reps. Tom Cole, R-Moore; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City; and Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, will likely consider the race, along with Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

<snip>

More: http://newsok.com/sen.-tom-coburn-to-resign-at-the-end-of-current-congress/article/3924557