Many had already started considering who would run in his place and expressed confidence the seat would remain in GOP hands. Republicans close to Senate GOP leaders expressed strong interest Friday in the prospect of trying to persuade Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for the seat. Democrats have not won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932, but the state has undergone a political change in recent months, electing Democrat Laura Kelly governor in 2018. Throughout his Senate career, Roberts has kept a lower national profile than many of his colleagues. Roberts’s decision comes just a few weeks after Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, another longtime GOP senator known for bipartisanship, said he would not seek reelection in 2020.

Source: Washington Post January 04, 2019 17:35 UTC