by James Oliphant
Another Senate Republican is hanging them up.
Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio announced to day that he will not seek reelection in 2010. His retirement comes on the heels of the announcement last week from Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.) that he, too, will not seek reelection.
Sens. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) have already said they won't return. The 2010 election cycle now looks to be increasingly competitive. Both Missouri and Ohio have shifted in the Democrats' direction in recent years. Ohio elected Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in 2006.
Voinovich said he wants to focus on the problems facing the nation.
"In my lifetime of public service, I have never seen the country in such perilous circumstances," Voinovich said in a statement Monday. "Not since the Great Depression and the Second World War have we been confronted with such challenges, as a nation and as a world. Those of us that have been given the honor to serve in these times must step up to the plate and put this country on a course that will see it through these harrowing times and make it strong and viable for the 21st century."
While perhaps not the most dynamic member of the Senate, Voinovich has been a reliable centrist and has long been popular in the Buckeye State. A two-term governor, he also served as Cleveland's mayor. He was elected to the Senate in 1998.
Comments
"Ohio's Voinovich to Retire"
The Greedy Oil Party is going to be out of power for a very looooong time and no one knows this better than the GOP congresscritters themselves.
Posted by: The Utes should be #1 | January 12, 2009 1:32 PM
Well of course all the fat rats are going to swim away from the sinking ship. They used that convenient hole they chewed in the hull to excape.
Posted by: Xcellentform | January 12, 2009 7:10 PM