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Hagel Won't Seek Office Next Year

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McClatchy-Tribune

Published: September 9, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to retire and has decided not to run for president next year, according to media reports Saturday.

Hagel, 60, will formally announce his decision at a news conference Monday morning in Omaha, Neb., according to news reports that cited people close to the Republican senator.

The Nebraska native said during his first Senate campaign in 1996 that he would retire after serving two terms in office. Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran who has been a critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq.

The move by Hagel would mean another seat the Republican Party would have to defend in the elections in 2008. Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia two weeks ago said he would retire next year.

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after his arrest in June in a men's restroom sex-sting operation, said he will leave his position at the end of the month. Craig had previously indicated he would not seek re-election.

Since his announcement, there have been reports Craig may try to keep his seat. He is trying to have the guilty plea reversed.

Among those who may enter the Senate race in Nebraska are former Gov. Mike Johanns, who serves as the U.S. agriculture secretary, and former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub, according to an Omaha World-Herald newspaper report.

Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey has said he may return to the state to run for re-election to the Senate seat. Kerrey, president of the New School University in New York, left office in 2001.

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