Skip to footer

Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat from Iowa, will not seek reelection

Tom Harkin, considered one of the most liberal Democratic senators, announced Saturday, he will not seek reelection in 2014. Harkin's departure could leave Democrats vulnerable in Iowa.  

|
Susan Walsh/AP
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. talks about the fiscal cliff with reporters, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 28. On Saturday, Harkin announced he will not run for reelection in 2014.
  • By Reuters

| Washington

Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa said on Saturday he will not seek re-election in 2014, saying he felt that after 40 years in Congress, it will be "somebody else's turn."

Harkin, 73, is one of the most liberal senators and has focused much of his long congressional career on farm policy and legislation aiding people with disabilities.

Iowa, site of the early presidential caucuses, is considered a political swing state, putting Democrats' long-held Senate seat at risk. Republican Charles Grassley is Iowa's other U.S. senator.

"I don't by any means plan to retire completely from public life at the end of this Congress," Harkin said in a statement. "But I am going to make way for someone new in this Senate seat. I think that is right not just for me, but for Iowa, as well."

In his remaining two years in office, Harkin said he will focus on implementing President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, expanding job opportunities for people with disabilities and expanding access to education.

Harkin was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 and the Senate in 1984.

"When the current Congress is over, I will have served in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S.Senate for a total of 40 years. After 40 years, I just feel it's somebody else's turn," he said.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat from Iowa, will not seek reelection
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0126/Senator-Tom-Harkin-Democrat-from-Iowa-will-not-seek-reelection
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe