A Statement from Olympia Snowe on Re-Election Campaign
Three-term Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) issued the following statement with regard to her re-election campaign:
"After an extraordinary amount of reflection and consideration, I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate.
"After 33 years in the Congress this was not an easy decision. My husband and I are in good health. We have laid an exceptionally strong foundation for the campaign, and I have no doubt I would have won re-election. It has been an indescribable honor and immeasurable privilege to serve the people of Maine, first in both houses of Maine's legislature and later in both houses of Congress. To this day, I remain deeply passionate about public service, and I cherish the opportunity I have been given for nearly four decades to help improve the lives of my fellow Mainers.
"As I have long said, what motivates me is producing results for those who have entrusted me to be their voice and their champion, and I am filled with that same sense of responsibility today as I was on my first day in the Maine House of Representatives. I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and "my way or the highway" ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.
"With my Spartan ancestry I am a fighter at heart; and I am well prepared for the electoral battle, so that is not the issue. However, what I have had to consider is how productive an additional term would be. Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.
"As I enter a new chapter, I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find solutions that unite rather than divide us. It is time for change in the way we govern, and I believe there are unique opportunities to build support for that change from outside the United States Senate. I intend to help give voice to my fellow citizens who believe, as I do, that we must return to an era of civility in government driven by a common purpose to fulfill the promise that is unique to America.
"In the meantime, as I complete my third term, I look forward to continuing to fight for the people of Maine and the future of our nation. And I will be forever and unyieldingly grateful for the trust that the people of Maine have placed in me, and for the phenomenal friendship and assistance I have received over the years from my colleagues, my supporters, and my staff, both in Maine and in Washington."
Editor's Note: Some highlights of Senator Snowe's career in the Senate
1978 - Elected to Congress as the youngest Republican woman, and the first Greek-American woman, ever elected to Congress.
1994 - Elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress.
1997 - Appointed to the position of Counsel to the Assistant Majority Leader.
2001 - Becomes the first Republican woman ever to secure a full-term seat on the Senate Finance Committee.
More Articles
- Emily's List Statement On Voting Rights Vs Senator Sinema's Lack of Support for Legislation on Voting Rights
- The Judiciary is Introducing Two Articles of Impeachment Charging the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, With Committing High Crimes and Misdemeanors
- Less Than You Think: Prevalence and Predictors of Fake News Dissemination on Facebook from Science Advances
- Updated: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi: "Between the inevitable and the Unconceivable" ... "The Mueller Report will be released" “The President’s sham emergency declaration and unlawful transfers of funds have undermined our democracy"
- Do They Know Where You Live? Americans' Mobility Remains a Challenge for Voter Lists
- Is your neighbor a Democrat or Republican? Desirability of Partisan Composition on Real Estate
- Culture and Political Watch, The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It
- Another Woman on the Supreme Court May Position More Women to Enter Politics and Government