Missouri GOP Sen. Roy Blunt will not run for reelection.
The two-time 71-year-old Republican senator announced his decision not to run for a third term in a YouTube video on Monday.
GOP SENATE RETIREMENTS COULD MAKE MITCH MCCONNELL’S CONFERENCE EVEN TRUMPIER
“After 14 general election victories, three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections, I won’t be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year,” he said. “I want to thank my family and thank the great team that came together to help me work for you.”
Prior to his two successful senate campaigns in 2010 and 2016, Blunt served as the representative from Missouri’s 7th Congressional District from 1996 until that first senate term. During his time in the House, he served as the Republican Whip from 2003-2009.
Shortly after Blunt posted the announcement, Jason Kander, a Democrat who previously served as the secretary of state of Missouri and later narrowly lost to Blunt in 2016, said he will not be running in 2022 for the vacant seat.
“Regarding the Senate in ‘22: Always nice to be asked. Thanks,” he tweeted. “My decision not to run was never about who I’d run against. I’m the President of [Veteran’s Community Project] and we’re building campuses for vets around the USA. Love this work, don’t want a new job. I’ll campaign for the Dem nominee!”
Blunt’s announcement makes him the fifth Republican senator to decide not to run for reelection next year following Richard Burr of North Carolina, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Richard Shelby of Alabama. These retirements will give Democrats a chance to gain a more significant majority than the 50-50 split that represents the current senate divide. Pennsylvania and Ohio already have one Democrat in the Senate, making the states an even more competitive battleground in 2022.
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Blunt’s fellow Missouri senator, Josh Hawley, also a Republican, beat two-term Senate Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018. She also said she wouldn’t be entering the race to fill Blunt’s seat.
“To all that are asking: thank you to the many who have said kind things,” she said. “But I will never run for office again. Nope. Not gonna happen. Never. I am so happy I feel guilty sometimes. #RoyBluntRetiring.”
