Senator Pat Roberts not to seek re-election

Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) has announced he won’t be seeking re-election in 2020.

His departure marks another GOP Senator known for bipartisanship leaving.

He first entered the Senate in 1996, and eventually became Chairman of the Agriculture Committee. He notably fought for assistance to farmers and protecting food stamps.

“I am announcing that I will serve the remainder of this term as your senator, fighting for Kansas in these troubled times. However, I will not be a candidate in 2020 for a fifth term”

Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas)

Senator Roberts had recently crafted an $867 billion farm bill, which focuses on providing farmers with agricultural subsidies, as well as protecting food stamps, contrary to what the Republican legislature in his own state has done.

The bill (which became law) also legalized hemp, a form of cannabis grown for its fibers and oil.

As for politics, most strategists from both sides forecast that seat will remain in the hands of the GOP (Democrats haven’t won a Kansan Senate seat in 87 years).

Sources close to the Republican leadership in the Senate expressed hope in trying to convince Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who used to be the Representative for Kansas’s 4th District. Of course, if he can be persuaded, Secretary Pompeo would probably stay on as Secretary of State until 2020, and then run for the seat.

Of course, this all begs the question, who would take the mantle of the State Department after Pompeo? If President Donald Trump is re-elected, then it may be someone from his original list, from the time of the transition. The names on that list included former Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), the former Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Of course, he and President Trump have always had a rocky relationship, so he will probably not be the replacement. At the time, Mitt Romney was on the list, but with the tensions flaring and his latest op-ed criticizing Trump, he might be a hard sell.

There were a couple others on that list, too, including Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis, and former CIA Director David Petraeus. Of the three, Admiral Stavridis was the most likely to get the job, according to a spokesman.

Of course, former Mayor Giuliani has been the most loyal to Trump, replacing Michael Cohen as Trump’s attorney for the Robert Mueller‘s Russia probe. Of course, until Pompeo actually resigns, all of this is mere speculation.