Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat and scion of a prominent western political dynasty, won’t seek re-election in 2020.
Udall said in a statement Monday he won’t run for a third Senate term.
“The worst thing anyone in public office can do is believe the office belongs to them, rather than to the people they represent,” Udall, 70, said in a statement. “That’s why I’m announcing today that I won’t be seeking re-election next year.”
Udall’s move puts Senate Democrats in the position of defending a border state seat that leans their way. Once a swing state where Republicans ran competitively, New Mexico has tilted blue over the past decade and a half. In 2018, Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small on a district along the state’s southern border with Mexico that had long been in GOP hands.
Democrats currently hold 47 Senate seats, compared to 53 for Republicans. The New Mexico seat will likely be eyed by a range of Democratic officials. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a member of the House Democratic leadership, is already being mentioned as a successor. And Rep. Torres Small, though having just begun her House service, could also seek the seat.
Despite the Enchantment State’s Democratic tilt, Republican strategists said Monday it will be competitive come 2020.
“The Democratic Party’s lurch toward socialism has even longtime Party leaders running for the hills,” Jesse Hunt, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement. “The people of New Mexico deserve a senator who will fight for more jobs, lower taxes, and safer communities and we look forward to fielding a strong candidate in the New Mexico Senate race.”
Udall’s departure from the Senate in January 2021 will signal the end of a political dynasty stretching back to the Eisenhower era. The senator’s father, Stewart Udall, served as a Democratic congressman from Arizona for six years before being tapped by President John F. Kennedy as interior secretary in 1961. Stewart Udall held that post through the end of President Lyndon Johnson’s administration in 1969.
An uncle, Mo Udall, succeeded his brother in the House representing Arizona. He served for 30 years, and ran for president in 1976. His son, Mark Udall, served a single Senate term representing Colorado from 2009-2015, but lost re-election. Both Mark Udall and Tom Udall were elected to the House in 1998 before joining the Senate a decade later.
