Sen. Pat Tommy. R-Pa. He said he was returning to the private sector instead of contesting from his Senate seat.
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Sen. Pat Tommy. R-Pa. He said he was returning to the private sector instead of contesting from his Senate seat.
Zach Gibson / Getty Images
Republican Sen. of Pennsylvania. Flagging a new political battle for 2022, Pat Tommy announced on Monday that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his current term and would not seek to become the next governor of the state.
The move paves the way for a contest for his seat in the state’s upcoming midterm elections, which is key to the 2020 presidential race. A wave of Republicans will look to replace Tommy, while Democrats now have a chance to win another seat in the current GOP-controlled Senate, possibly in two years. Apart from the judges, Tommy is the only state-elected Republican in Pennsylvania.
“I will run in 2022 and I will not run for governor,” Tommy told a news conference with his family at a press conference in Alantown, PA, after the last two years of his term. The plan is to return to the private sector. ”
Tommy has long been rumored to be running for governor. However, it is evolving politically and has seen a growing shift from red to blue in many pockets.
He has been challenged to balance President Trump and conservative supporters of those who say Tommy has done nothing to stand up for the president. Tommy noted Monday that he had long since realized he was “not responsible for the president’s Twitter feed.”
“I work with this president on a regular basis. It’s a very constructive working relationship and when I don’t agree with him – which I have – I didn’t rush to say so,” he said. Trump did not play. Role in his decision.
Longtime Republican MPs will serve 18 years in public office until 2022, calling the time they represent their state “a unique honor”, highlighting my professional life. Tommy said he made the decision based on his long-held belief that politicians should abide by the limits of tenure.
“I’m looking forward to returning home,” Tommy said. “I don’t have any specific plans, and I’m not going to spend time or energy thinking about what I’m going to do in the next two years because I have a lot of work ahead of me.”
Tommy served six years in the House of Representatives in 1999 and then two Senate terms in 2011.
He is also chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and says he is optimistic that after the November election he will live in the hope that Republicans can maintain their grip.
“I intend to work as hard as I can,” he said.
The announcement comes after a news report from Philadelphia Inquiry Late sunday Tommy will be out of politics.
Tommy said President Trump’s coronavirus infection and hospitalization had no role in his decision. Instead, he said he wanted to come because his campaign plans for 2022 were being discussed. He said that once he made his decision, he wanted to be honest with the public.
Tommy said he would not change his plans, but when asked if he was happy to stay in politics.
“I’m in five tough and competitive general elections … I’ve won all five,” he said. “I think if I decided to run, I would win again.”
