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Mike Johanns Retiring: Nebraska GOP Senator Won't Seek Second Term

GOP Senator Won't Seek Second Term: Report
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Managing Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

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US Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announces his resignation during a press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, 20 September 2007. AFP PHOTO/KAREN BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) will not seek a second term in 2014, NBC News reported Monday.

In a letter, Johanns told Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman that he will not run for reelection next year.

"With everything in life, there is a time and a season. At the end of this term, we will have been in public service over 32 years," Johanns wrote, referencing his wife Stephanie's political career. "Between the two of us, we have been on the ballot for primary and general elections 16 times and we have served in eight offices. It is time to close this chapter of our lives."

Johanns was first elected to the Senate in 2008, after serving as U.S. secretary of agriculture under former President George W. Bush. Prior to that, the Republican served two terms as Nebraska's governor.

With Johanns exiting the 2014 race, eyes are likely to turn to Heineman, also a Republican. In 2011, GOP leaders urged the governor to challenge then-Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) in the 2012 race, but the governor declined to run. The GOP nomination eventually went to Deb Fischer, a Tea Party favorite who defeated Bob Kerrey, who won the Democratic nomination after Nelson also declined to run, in the general election.

"Senator Mike Johanns is a remarkably outstanding public official. His career spans decades of dedicated service at the local, state and national levels," Heineman said in a statement. "As a mayor, a Governor, a Cabinet Secretary, and now as a U.S. Senator, Senator Johanns has always been a leader of our state and of our nation."

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Before You Go

113th Congress Facts
The Numbers(01 of07)
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The House has 233 Republicans and 200 Democrats. Each party should pick up one more seat when two vacancies are filled. Going into the election, the GOP edge was 242-193. Senate Democrats will have a caucus of 55, including two independents, Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Republicans have 45. That's a pickup of two seats for Democrats.(Text via the Associated Press) (credit:Getty Images)
Women(02 of07)
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The House will have 79 women, including 60 Democrats. At the end of the last session, there were 50 Democratic women and 24 Republican women. The new Senate will have 20 women members, an increase of three. That consists of 16 Democrats and four Republicans. The last Senate had 12 Democratic women and five Republicans.(Text via the Associated Press) (credit:AP)
Freshmen(03 of07)
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With two vacancies to be filled, the House has 82 freshmen; 47 Democrats and 35 Republicans. As of the end of the last session, 87 of 103 freshmen were Republicans. The Senate will include 14 new faces, with nine Democrats and the independent King. Five are women. New senators include Brian Schatz, who was sworn in on Dec. 27 to fill the seat of the late Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Incoming House freshmen of the 113th Congress pose for a group photo on the East steps of the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (credit:AP)
African Americans(04 of07)
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The House will have 40 African-Americans, all Democrats. The number of Democrats is unchanged, although two Republicans will be gone: Allen West, R-Fla., lost his re-election bid, and Tim Scott, R-S.C., was appointed to fill the Senate seat of Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who is retiring. Scott will be the first black lawmaker in the Senate since Roland Burris, who retired in 2010 after filling the Illinois Senate seat of Barack Obama for almost two years.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to replace outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., walks out of the Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (credit:AP)
Hispanics(05 of07)
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The new House will have 33 Hispanics, with 25 Democrats and eight Republicans. That's up slightly from last year. The Senate will have three Hispanics: Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Republican freshman Ted Cruz of Texas.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Rep.-elect Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, speaks with members of the media after a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (credit:AP)
Other Minorities(06 of07)
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The new House will have nine Asian Americans, all Democrats. There are two American Indians: Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ben Lujan, D-N.M.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Sen.-elect, current Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and her husband, Leighton Oshima ride the Senate Subway on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) (credit:AP)
Other Facts(07 of07)
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According to CQ Roll Call newspaper, the average age of House members in the 113th Congress is 57; the average age of senators is 62. It estimates that the House will include some 277 Protestants and Catholics, 22 Jews, two Muslims and two Buddhists. The Senate will have 80 Protestants and Catholics and 10 Jews. The House will have its first Hindu, Rep.Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. Senate freshman Mazie Hirono, also of Hawaii, will be the Senate's only Buddhist and its first Asian American woman. Also for the first time, white men will be a minority among House Democrats.(Text via the Associated Press)Pictured at left: Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii is seen on stage during a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (credit:AP)
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