Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced Monday that he would not seek reelection in 2020, a move likely to bring a close to a long political career characterized by his ability to seek consensus and work with politicians from both parties.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced Monday that he would not seek reelection in 2020, a move likely to bring a close to a long political career characterized by his ability to seek consensus and work with politicians from both parties.
Alexander, 78, a former Tennessee governor and U. S. education secretary who twice ran for president, had been weighing his political future for months, promising to announce a decision by the end of the year.
„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,“ Alexander said in a statement. „I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege.“
Alexander has cultivated a reputation for being a traditional Republican senator, voting with President Trump much of the time but willing to work with Democrats.
A close ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Alexander currently serves as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He was at the center of the unsuccessful 2017 push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Alexander’s decision means that for the second time in two years, Tennessee will have an open U.
