Washington Examiner: Warner expected to announce Retirement ...

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Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is expected to announce today that he will not seek re-election, Republican officials said Thursday.

According to GOP campaign and congressional sources, the 80-year-old Warner has informed them he will retire when his fifth term ends at the end of next year. Political analysts, however, cautioned that Warner may not come to a final decision until he steps up to the microphone at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he is scheduled to appear at 2 p.m.

“He could wake up in the morning and change his mind," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. "With politicians, it is never over until they sing, they're fat and they are the fat lady.”

Some congressional aides said Virginia's senior senator could be hoping for a last-minute intervention by GOP leaders who want him to run again, but others say he has made up his mind not to seek a sixth term.

One top GOP aide described the decision to retire as “solid.”

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