Published: December 17, 2018

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced Monday he will not seek re-election in 2020.

“I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020. The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as Governor and Senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege. I have gotten up every day thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remaining two years of my term," Alexander said in a statement.

Alexander was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. He was previously governor from 1979 to 1987. He also served as president of the University of Tennessee and U.S. Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush. In October 2019, he will have served more combined years as governor and U.S. Senator than any other Tennessean.