Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico announced on Monday that he would retire at the end of his term, becoming the first Democratic senator to declare he would leave the chamber after the 2020 elections and setting in motion a competitive race to succeed him among a rising generation of Western Democrats. Mr. Udall, 70, the scion of a political dynasty that helped define the modern Democratic Party in the West, explained his decision in an online message, writing that he believed he could be more productive over the next two years without the pressures of seeking re-election. “Without the distraction of another campaign, I can get so much more done to help reverse the damage done to our planet, end the scourge of war, and to stop this president’s assault on our democracy and our communities,” Mr. Udall wrote on Medium. Mr. Udall joins two senior Republicans, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Pat Roberts of Kansas, in his plans to retire at the end of the current Congress.

Source: New York Times March 25, 2019 18:33 UTC