NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/CLARKSVILLENOW) — Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee says he won’t seek re-election in 2020.
Alexander said in a news release Monday that he’s deeply grateful for being elected to serve more combined years as governor and senator than anyone else in Tennessee. But he said now it’s time for someone else to have that privilege.
The Maryville, Tennessee native served as governor form 1979 until 1987, and helped bring the auto industry to the state. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2014.
Alexander’s announcement leaves an open 2020 race after a 2018 election in which Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee declined to run again. Republican Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn won an expensive, tough race against former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today made the following statement on the announcement from Senator Lamar Alexander:
“It is almost impossible to measure the impact of Lamar Alexander’s commitment to Tennessee. His time as governor paved the way for the economic position we enjoy today as a leading state for business, and his educational reforms were ahead of his time. As a senator, he has distinguished himself as a national leader, while always reminding everyone that our founders designed our government for most of the power to be delegated to the states. No one has served our state longer as a governor and senator, and few, if any, have served it better than Lamar.”