Thread: Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe won't seek re-election

Feb 28, 2012

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe won't seek re-election

By Susan Davis, USA TODAY Updated 15m ago
Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe
CAPTIONBy Joel Page, AP

One of the Senate's few remaining Republican moderates shocked the political world on Tuesday and announced she would not seek re-election this year.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe announced she would not seek a fourth term because she is tired of the polarization and partisanship that has permeated Washington in recent years.

"Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term," she said in a statement explaining her decision to retire.

Maine's junior GOP senator, Susan Collins, said in a statement that she was "absolutely devastated" by Snowe's decision to leave the Senate. Snowe was first elected in 1994. Collins was elected in 1996.

Snowe said her ability to win re-election was not at issue—she was heavily favored to win re-election. Her exit gives Democrats a new opportunity to be pick up a GOP-held seat in a year where they are fighting to hold on to control of the Senate.

Democrats currently control the chamber with a 53-47 split, with 2 independent senators caucusing with Democrats.

The announcement is the second piece of good news in as many days for Senate Democrats. On Monday, it was reported that former senator Bob Kerrey is mulling a run for Nebraska's open Senate seat, which could improve the party's chances to hold a seat heavily favored to flip to the GOP.
Snowe's full statement is below:

"After an extraordinary amount of reflection and consideration, I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate.

"After 33 years in the Congress this was not an easy decision. My husband and I are in good health. We have laid an exceptionally strong foundation for the campaign, and I have no doubt I would have won re-election. It has been an indescribable honor and immeasurable privilege to serve the people of Maine, first in both houses of Maine's legislature and later in both houses of Congress. To this day, I remain deeply passionate about public service, and I cherish the opportunity I have been given for nearly four decades to help improve the lives of my fellow Mainers.

"As I have long said, what motivates me is producing results for those who have entrusted me to be their voice and their champion, and I am filled with that same sense of responsibility today as I was on my first day in the Maine House of Representatives. I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.

"With my Spartan ancestry I am a fighter at heart; and I am well prepared for the electoral battle, so that is not the issue. However, what I have had to consider is how productive an additional term would be. Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.

"As I enter a new chapter, I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find solutions that unite rather than divide us. It is time for change in the way we govern, and I believe there are unique opportunities to build support for that change from outside the United States Senate. I intend to help give voice to my fellow citizens who believe, as I do, that we must return to an era of civility in government driven by a common purpose to fulfill the promise that is unique to America.

"In the meantime, as I complete my third term, I look forward to continuing to fight for the people of Maine and the future of our nation. And I will be forever and unyieldingly grateful for the trust that the people of Maine have placed in me, and for the phenomenal friendship and assistance I have received over the years from my colleagues, my supporters, and my staff, both in Maine and in Washington.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe won't seek re-election

Good - One more RINO gone.

After 33 years it will take a while to scrape the barnacles off of her.

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