GOP’s string of losses: Senator Roy Blunt announces retirement after his term

Missouri GOP Senator Roy Blunt, who has had a deep connection with the people of the state due to his extensive tenure in the US Congress, announced on Monday that he will not be running in the next term elections.

Senator Blunt, who has been of the most senior members of the Republican party in the Senate, was expected to seek his seat in the state of Missouri one more time in 2022. The 71-year-old was previously a part of the US House of Representatives and served a total of seven terms in the lower chamber of the US’s bicameral system. Moreover, he has also served two terms, between 1985 and 1993, as the Secretary of State of Missouri, reported Associated Press. 

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In a videotaped announcement, Blunt said, “In every job Missourians have allowed me to have, I’ve tried to do my best. In almost 12,000 votes in the Congress, I’m sure I wasn’t right every time, but you really make that decision based on the information you have at the time.”

He added, “After 14 General Election victories — three to the county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections — I won’t be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate next year.”

Mitch McConnell, a leading GOP lawmaker and majority leader in the US Senate s spoke about Blunt’s decision and called it “a loss for the Republican conference and the entire Senate.”

McConnell stated, “In just 10 years in this body, he’s quickly become a true leader, a policy heavyweight, and a driving force behind both key conservative victories and essential bipartisan work”, according to Associated Press. 

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Rob Portman, Richard Shelby, Pat Toomey and Richard Burr from Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania and North Carolina respectively have been joined by Blunt on the list of the US lawmakers who will be retiring after the current term expires.  

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Charles Grassley of Iowa are yet to announce their future in US politics.