California Senator Barbara Boxer has announced that she will retire from politics and not seek reelection in 2016. This will bring to an end a 34 year career in both the House and Senate. She made the announcement via an on line video.
Born Barbra Levy, the California Democrat grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn before finding her way to California. First she served for 5 terms in the House beginning with her first election in 1982. Then in 1992 she succeeded the retiring fellow Democrat Alan Cranston when elected to her first of four terms as a US Senator.
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Boxer made the announcement in a mock press conference video that she posted on line. Her grandson Zach Rodham acted as the reporter.
In it the Senator said that her age, 74, was not a factor in her decisions. “I am never going to retire, ” she asserted. She said that she will continue to fight to promote the issues that she cares about.
“I want to help our Democratic candidate for president make history, ” Boxer added.
She closed with a poem, “The Senate is the place where I have always made my case. For families, for the planet, for the whole human race… I won’t be working in my Senate space and I won’t be running in that next tough race.”
Republicans are already salivating at the thought of winning a California Senate seat fort the first time in more than 20 years. They hope that it will be easier to do so without an incumbent Democrat to run against.
