Sen. Lamar Alexander will not run for reelection

Congress

The Tennessee Republican is known for his ability to work with both sides of the aisle.

Sen. Lamar Alexander will not run for another term in the Senate, a decision that represents a body blow to the institution and comes as a surprise to many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

A former governor, Cabinet member, presidential candidate and now the chairman of the influential Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Alexander (R-Tenn.) decided to call it quits after three terms despite polls showing him in strong position in 2020.

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“The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as governor and senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege,” the 78-year old Alexander said in a closely-held statement on Monday. “I have gotten up every day thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remaining two years of my term.”

Alexander is widely respected by Democrats and Republicans, the rare senator who is close to both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. With his retirement, the Senate will lose a key negotiating conduit during times of crisis.

Though not a true moderate like Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Alexander’s brand of politics contrast sharply with those of Trump and younger, more conservative Republicans that have won election in recent years. Alexander supported the 2013 bipartisan, comprehensive immigration bill that Trump loathes and also declined to sign a 2015 letter to Iranian leaders undercutting President Barack Obama‘s efforts to reach a nuclear deal. He also left the party leadership in 2011 so that he could pursue more bipartisan legislating.

“Sen. Alexander has a unique capacity to bring people together. He is a problem solver at a time when too many people in politics want to talk about a problem rather than solve a problem,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

If he ran it again, it would be in an increasingly conservative state and on the same ballot as President Donald Trump. Though he beat back a conservative challenge in 2014, the state has continued to tilt rightward even as Alexander pursued bipartisan deal-making on Capitol Hill. Still, a recent poll showed Alexander with 69 percent approval among Republican primary voters.

In the short-term, Alexander’s retirement also means the Tennessee delegation is losing significant seniority in the Senate. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is retiring at the end of this year after two terms.

“I often tell him he is the legislator of the decade because of the effective way he has worked across the aisle to pass legislation that directly affects the lives of so many throughout our state and around the country,” Corker said on Monday. “As one of the finest statesmen our state has ever seen, Lamar will leave behind a remarkable legacy.“

The retirements of the deal-making duo could lead to a more conservative delegation. Corker will be replaced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who is more of partisan warrior than Alexander or Corker, and the state’s primaries could produce a conservative replacement for Alexander, too.

The centrist outgoing Gov. Bill Haslam (R-Tenn.) is sure to get attention as a possible candidate to succeed Alexander. Haslam and Alexander were together on Monday for Haslam’s official portrait unveiling, according to a person familiar with their interactions.

Unless Republicans flounder in recruiting, the GOP will be heavily favored to retain Alexander’s seat. Democrats tried to contest Blackburn’s campaign with moderate former Gov. Phil Bredesen, but he lost badly.

Alexander has two more years as committee chairman ahead of him, which could be a crucial perch given the legal uncertainty around Obamacare. His recent tenure has been defined by an ability to negotiate new health care and education laws with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on the HELP Committee.

But since the failure of the GOP’s Obamacare repeal, Alexander has had little success negotiating a bipartisan bill to shore up health insurance markets with Murray. They might need to dust off their old compromise, however: A judge in Texas ruled against the law last week and the case could be appealed to the Supreme Court and eventually require quick, bipartisan work in Congress.

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report.