Coats of Indiana won't seek re-election in 2016 - Chicago Tribune

By Kathleen Miller and Erik Wasson, Bloomberg News Bloomberg

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., said Tuesday he won't seek re-election in 2016.

"I have concluded that the time has come to pass this demanding job to the next generation of leaders," Coats said in an emailed statement.

Coats, 71, served four terms in the House before moving to the Senate and serving from 1989 to 1999. He then became U.S. ambassador to Germany and returned to the Senate in 2011.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement, "Washington is going to miss Senator Coats's expertise on economic and national security issues, and I'm going to miss his wise counsel and trusted friendship here in the Senate."

The nonpartisan Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report shifted its rating of the race for Coats's seat from "safe Republican" to "Republican favored."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, former chairman of Senate Republicans' campaign committee, said Coats "assures me there's a good bench of electable nominees who can hold the seat."

"We didn't talk about specific people, but obviously we've got to have a good candidate," Cornyn said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, said Coats will "bring to a close an extraordinary career in public service marked by humility, integrity, and a commitment to principled conservative leadership."

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, when told by reporters of Coats's plans, said, "Oh, I don't like that at all."

"I think the world of him," Hatch said.

Coats is a member of the Finance Committee, where he is chairman of the energy and natural resources subcommittee. He also is a member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Joint Economic Committee.

Coats is the third senator and first Republican to announce retirement plans. Two veteran Senate Democrats, Barbara Mikulski and Barbara Boxer of California, also have said they won't seek re-election.

Indiana Republicans have a deep, young bench, as all seven House Republicans from the state came to Congress in 2010 or later. They include Reps. Todd Young, Marlin Stutzman, Todd Rokita and Jackie Walorski. Pence would be a formidable candidate if he decided to run. IndyPolitics.com, which first reported news of Coats's retirement, said his state chief of staff, Eric Holcomb, may be a contender.

Republicans took control of the Senate in January — by 54 to 46 seats over the Democrats — for the first time in eight years.

Next year, Republicans must defend 24 Senate seats compared with 10 for Democrats, a reversal from the past two elections when significantly more Senate Democrats were on the ballot.

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