Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) announced today he
won't seek another term:
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, a son of Greek immigrants who became the longest-serving United States senator in Maryland history, said today that he would not run for a sixth term next year. "It was not my ambition to stay there until they carried me out," Mr. Sarbanes, a Democrat, said in a news conference at his Baltimore office, according to The Associated Press. "It was just the right time. We think we've served long and well and honorably, and we're very comfortable with this decision."Mr. Sarbanes, 72, said his health was not a factor in his decision.
The senator has had a generally liberal voting record in his three decades in the chamber. He won his most recent re-election, in 2000, by a margin of 63 to 37 percent. Although Senator Sarbanes was considered nearly invincible as an incumbent, and although Maryland elected a Republican, Robert Ehrlich, governor in 2002 over the Democratic lieutenant governor at the time, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Mr. Sarbanes's departure may offer only a nominal opportunity for Republicans to add to their 55 seats in the Senate.
Let's hope that is right. Who are the folks likely to be candidates to seek the seat?
Update [2005-3-11 19:51:6 by Armando]: A bit callous in my original post. Let me thank Senator Sarbanes for his many years of fine service to his country and to our Democratic Party.