Sen. Pat Roberts won't run again in 2020
Sen. Pat Roberts will not run for reelection in 2020.
The 82-year-old Kansas Republican, who has served in the Senate since 1997, made the announcement Friday in Topeka, Kansas.
"I will serve the remainder of this term as your senator, fighting for Kansas in these troubled times. However, I will not be a candidate in 2020 for a fifth Senate term," Roberts announced.
Shortly before the announcement, a GOP consultant said Roberts hadn't yet talked to anyone about possible replacements, CBS News correspondent Ed O'Keefe reports. Roberts was in a meeting with the entire 2020 class before Christmas break in which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged everyone who was considering stepping away from the Senate to make a decision as early as possible. There is heavy interest in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo taking a look at the job if Roberts decides he doesn't want to run, but it's unclear if Pompeo would even want to leave his high-profile role in the Trump administration for the Senate.
Fellow Senate Republicans immediately reacted to news of his retirement.
"I'm sorry 2 hear my good friend Sen Roberts is retiring bc he is the BIGGEST advocate for American agriculture in the US Senate + the Marines will b losing their best friend in the Senate," Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa tweeted. "He's served the ppl of Kansas well."
