Brownback announces he will not run for re-election

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Sam Brownback attended press conferences in Olathe, Topeka and Wichita, Thursday, hosted by Phil Blumel, the president of U.S. Term Limits, during which Brownback was thanked for honoring his pledge to not seek a third term in the Senate.

"Today, I am formally announcing that I will honor my pledge and I will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010," said Brownback. "When I first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996, I made a promise to the people of Kansas that if elected, I would only serve a maximum of two full terms in the Senate. I followed that with a pledge I signed in 1998. That promise comes due in 2010, and I am fulfilling that commitment.

"I love serving in the Senate. I love serving the people of Kansas. And I love America. But as my fellow Kansans know, your word is your bond. As a man recently said to me, 'If a man breaks his word, it breaks the man.' I have two years left in the Senate and we have many critical issues facing us. I will use this time and the trust you have placed in me to do all I can do to make the future better for all Americans."

Brownback pledged in 1996 and signed a pledge in 1998 with U.S. Term Limits promising to run for only two full terms in the Senate. His second term ends in 2010. Brownback was elected to fill the unexpired term of Senator Bob Dole in 1996 and was elected to 6-year terms in 1998 and 2004.

Brownback continued, "We have some key Kansas battles ahead in the next two years, such as getting the next generation of Air Force refueling tankers made in Kansas; securing funding for NBAF facility in Manhattan; and keeping Fort Leavenworth the intellectual center for the Army, not a holding place for terrorists, a mission for which it was not designed.

"I will work to do everything we can in Washington to help grow the Kansas economy and create jobs here at home. I will be aggressively involved in these fights and all others necessary to help Kansas and America be that shining city on a hill. Thank you for the honor of serving in the U.S. Senate. It is a special place in a special land."