Sen. Lamar Alexander will not run for reelection [View all]

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will not run for another term in the Senate, a decision that represents a body blow to the institution and comes as a surprise to many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

A former governor, Cabinet member, presidential candidate and now the chairman of the influential Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Alexander decided to call it quits after three terms despite polls showing him in strong position in 2020. He’d be running in a conservative state and on the same ballot as President Donald Trump.

"The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as governor and senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege," the 78-year old Alexander said on Monday. "I have gotten up every day thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remaining two years of my term.”

Alexander is widely respected by Democrats and Republicans, the rare senator who is close to both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. With his retirement, the Senate will lose a key negotiating conduit during times of crisis.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/17/sen-lamar-alexander-will-not-run-for-reelection-1067254

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