Sen. Jim Inhofe is expected to announce his plans to resign before the end of his term, according to multiple reports. A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Republican did not respond to a request for comment.
Inhofe, 87, was first elected to the Senate in 1994 and took office the same year. He is expected to announce Monday that he will step down at the end of this year, which would result in a special election for someone else to serve the final four years of his current term.
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Inhofe is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who on Thursday called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “an unprecedented, unwarranted, and unprovoked attack.”
“For months, we’ve seen this coming — but Putin’s massive, shameful breach of international protocol is shocking and devastating nonetheless,” Inhofe said.
Jonathan Martin, a reporter for the New York Times, noted on Twitter that Inhofe’s retirement would prompt an intense campaign for a rare open Senate seat among Republicans in the Sooner State.
Hearing that @JimInhofe – the 87-year-old Oklahoma senator first elected in 1994 – may resign in the next few days. Would trigger an intense campaign among Repubs in a red state where Senate seats don’t come along too often.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 24, 2022
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Martin noted possible contenders for an open Senate seat in the red state would likely include Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell and T.W. Shannon, a former speaker of the state House who lost a primary race against Oklahoma’s other senator, James Lankford, in 2014.
