Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Won’t Seek Re-election

From the New York Times:

Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa who championed landmark legislation banning discrimination against people with disabilities, said Saturday he would retire and not seek re-election to a sixth term.

The announcement from Mr. Harkin, 73, sets the stage for one of the most competitive Senate races in the country next year. It will be a key battleground in the Republican Party’s quest to win control of the chamber from Democrats.

“To walk away from this position and this power is not an easy thing,” Mr. Harkin told The Des Moines Register on Saturday. “But I think it’s the right thing. And I have two years left. I’m not passing the torch sitting down, it’s a running relay. I intend to be very active over the next two years.”

In a career spanning four decades in Washington, Mr. Harkin pushed for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and was a leading voice in the overhauling of the nation’s health care system. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992.

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