(CNN) Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership, announced Monday that he will not run for reelection, the latest Republican senator to announce he's not running next year. "After 14 general election victories -- three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections -- I won't be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year," Blunt announced in a video message. The unexpected announcement marks the latest decision not to seek reelection by a pragmatic GOP senator willing to reach across the aisle in the post-Trump era as the Republican Party grapples with its future. While Blunt defeated Democrat Jason Kander in 2016 by fewer than 3 percentage points, Missouri is an increasingly Republican state. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill lost by almost 6 percentage points in 2018, and Trump won about 57% of the vote in the Show-Me state in 2020.

Source: CNN March 08, 2021 15:23 UTC