Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) announced Friday that he will not run for re-election in 2012, putting a battleground seat Democrats have held for over five decades squarely in play for the upcoming elections.
"I am announcing today that I will not seek another term as your senator," Kohl said at a press conference in Milwaukee. "Rather, I will continue to devote all my energy and time in the next nineteen months to see to it that the people in our state are well-served."
"I've always believed it's better to leave a job too early than a little too late, and that's how I feel today," he added.
Kohl is the sixth senator who caucuses with the Democrats to retire this year. Two Republican senators have announced their retirement. Kohl turned 76 years old in 2011 and has been serving in the Senate since 1989.
