Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, an outspoken Senator noted for his independence and secure hold on his Senate seat, has announced he’ll retire at the end of his term in two years –– taking his seat out of the “safe seat” category and most likely propelling it into the “likely Democratic column.” But it changes some assumptions now among those who do predictive numbers:
Democratic Sen. Carl Levin announced Thursday he will not seek re-election in 2014, saying he wants to serve as Senate Armed Services chairman and an advocate for his home state of Michigan “without the distraction of campaigning for re-election.”
Levin, 78, was first elected to the Senate in 1978 and is the longest-serving senator in Michigan’s history. He said in a statement the decision was “extremely difficult because I love representing the people of Michigan” and “fighting for the things that I believe are important for them.”
Levin is the sixth member of the Senate to announce his retirement, creating an open seat for Democrats in a state that has backed President Barack Obama twice but where Republicans hold the governor’s office. Democrats, who control 55 seats in the Senate, have to defend open seats in West Virginia, Iowa and New Jersey in the aftermath of three other retirements and will try to hold onto 21 seats in next year’s elections.
Rep. Gary Peters, a Democrat who represents suburban Detroit, has been viewed as a potential Senate candidate, while Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican who represents a district that includes Grand Rapids, is also considering a run.
Levin’s announcement comes just days after he shepherded Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s nomination through a bruising Senate confirmation fight. The Armed Services chairman often found himself at odds with some of the newer Republicans on the committee, including freshman Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Levin pointedly pushed back when Cruz insinuated that Hagel had taken money from extreme or radical groups, and he defended the president’s nominee.
Levin, who has served on the committee for nearly three decades, became chairman in 2007 after Democrats regained the majority in the Senate. He has worked closely with Sen. John McCain of Arizona, then the top GOP committee member, in ensuring that the Congress produces an annual defense policy bill, which it has done for more than half a century. The panel is one of the few committees to successfully produce a bipartisan authorization bill.
A former civil rights lawyer, Levin was a leading critical voice on the war in Iraq. As chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, he has investigated Enron, the credit card industry, the 2008 financial crisis, and offshore tax havens.
The senator is known as a hard-working advocate for his state, pushing to protect Great Lakes water and manufacturing jobs. A one-time line worker ad a Ford tractor factory, he pushed hard for the auto industry bailout.
Levin becomes the seventh senator to announce his retirement so far this year, including Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who resigned in January.
The other retirees are Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).
Candidates who will likely look at the seat include Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), but Democrats also must recruit for the governor’s race against Gov. Rick Snyder (D-Mich.).
“I am confident that we will recruit a great Democratic leader who will continue to fight for the values and priorities Senator Levin advocated for all these years,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Bennet (Colo.) said in a statement.
On the GOP side, Attorney General Bill Schuette is a likely prospect. Rep. Justin Amash will also likely consider a bid. Republicans struggled to field a top-tier candidate against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) last year, as former congressman Pete Hoekstra never seemed to recover from some early stumbles.
Republicans will be more hopeful; Democrats will remain confident — but not quite as much as before. The bottom line: it removes a safe seat. Period.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.