Senator Kyl Will Not Seek Reelection

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl will announce Thursday that he is not running for reelection in 2012.

The second-ranking Republican in the Senate is expected to make the announcement at 12 p.m. ET from his home state of Arizona.

A source close to the senator confirms to POLITICO that Kyl has decided not to run for a fourth term. His departure opens up a major GOP leadership slot.

Kyl, who is 68, is Arizona’s junior senator, serving alongside former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Though Kyl has brought in strong victories in recent elections, his retirement could also put the Arizona seat in reasonable grasp of a Democrat. Before she was injured in a shooting last month, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, was considered a possible candidate for the seat, especially if Kyl were to retire.

Sen. Jon Kyl to announce retirement from Senate - David Catanese and Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com

They are all just jumping ship on both sides of the aisle it seems. Kyl's retirement will make this a competitive race next year.

 

[rightwinger]

Not gunna miss him

 

[Oddball]

Even money Hayworth runs for that seat.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Even money Hayworth runs for that seat.

Oh God, I hope not. I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff Flake.

 

[The T]

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl will announce Thursday that he is not running for reelection in 2012.

The second-ranking Republican in the Senate is expected to make the announcement at 12 p.m. ET from his home state of Arizona.

A source close to the senator confirms to POLITICO that Kyl has decided not to run for a fourth term. His departure opens up a major GOP leadership slot.

Kyl, who is 68, is Arizona’s junior senator, serving alongside former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Though Kyl has brought in strong victories in recent elections, his retirement could also put the Arizona seat in reasonable grasp of a Democrat. Before she was injured in a shooting last month, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, was considered a possible candidate for the seat, especially if Kyl were to retire.

Sen. Jon Kyl to announce retirement from Senate - David Catanese and Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com

They are all just jumping ship on both sides of the aisle it seems. Kyl's retirement will make this a competitive race next year.

I hope the voters send someone better and learned from the mistake of their fellow Arizonians by sending McCain back. We don't need another McCain in the Senate.

 

[jillian]

Oh God, I hope not. I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff Flake.

funny you should say that

Exit John Kyl, Enter Jeff Flake
Posted Thursday, February 10, 2011 1:36 PM | By David Weigel
WASHINGTON -- Arizona's Sen. John Kyl will retire next year, at the end of his third term. Sen. Mitch McConnell touched on this quickly in his boisterous (for him) speech to CPAC, calling the retirement a "big loss for the country." The conservatives in the hall hardly reacted. There were no gasps of regret.

I'm not sure why. There was nothing in Kyl's record to offend Tea Party activists. He carried the ball on the campaign to stop new START last year, and it wasn't successful, but it aligned him perfectly with the right of the party.

A Kyl-less Arizona U.S. Senate race is a bit like the open race in Texas. There is a wide, deep bench of ambitious Republican talent -- John Shadegg, Jeff Flake, state legislators who have now run the place with supermajorities. So this is significant -- the Club for Growth is already urging Flake to make the race. (Conservative donors have, for years, floated the possibility of Flake challenging or replacing John McCain, who isn't up again until 2016.) I pour grain after grain of salt onto rumors that Janet Napolitano will run -- recent numbers from Public Policy Polling suggest that her tenure at Homeland Security, one of the riskiest jobs in government, has taken her popularity far, far below where it was when she left the governor's office.

Weigel : Exit John Kyl, Enter Jeff Flake

 

[California Girl]

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl will announce Thursday that he is not running for reelection in 2012.

The second-ranking Republican in the Senate is expected to make the announcement at 12 p.m. ET from his home state of Arizona.

A source close to the senator confirms to POLITICO that Kyl has decided not to run for a fourth term. His departure opens up a major GOP leadership slot.

Kyl, who is 68, is Arizona’s junior senator, serving alongside former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Though Kyl has brought in strong victories in recent elections, his retirement could also put the Arizona seat in reasonable grasp of a Democrat. Before she was injured in a shooting last month, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, was considered a possible candidate for the seat, especially if Kyl were to retire.

Sen. Jon Kyl to announce retirement from Senate - David Catanese and Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com

They are all just jumping ship on both sides of the aisle it seems. Kyl's retirement will make this a competitive race next year.

I hope the voters send someone better and learned from the mistake of their fellow Arizonians by sending McCain back. We don't need another McCain in the Senate.

The polite thing to do is for the people of AZ to decide for themselves, don't you think?

 

[Sarah G]

Not gunna miss him

I won't miss him and Hayworth would be crazy to run again.

 

[NYcarbineer]

They are all just jumping ship on both sides of the aisle it seems. Kyl's retirement will make this a competitive race next year.

I hope the voters send someone better and learned from the mistake of their fellow Arizonians by sending McCain back. We don't need another McCain in the Senate.

The polite thing to do is for the people of AZ to decide for themselves, don't you think?

So we can count on you to never ever express an opinion about any Senator outside California?