Kerrey Won't Run Again: Strong Ag Advocate

January 21, 2000

Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) won't seek a third term this year, leaving Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee with an important seat to fill in the next Congress. Kerrey has been considered a strong advocate for farmers and is a co-sponsor of a crop insurance reform measure pending in the Senate.

Kerrey also has supported close monitoring of concentration activities in agriculture and agribusiness to make sure the impact on farming is not adverse. His official biography says, "He is a zealous proponent for family farmers and believes the growth of a handful of large companies is having a major impact on agriculture, causing significant financial hardship for most of Nebraska's producers."

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who serves on the agriculture committee with Kerrey, said Kerrey's "willingness to tell it like it is will be missed in the Senate. He provided courageous, common sense leadership for farmers and taxpayers. I especially appreciated his commitment to agriculture, the backbone of our midwestern economy. I'm sorry to see him leave public life."

Kerrey co-sponsored the crop insurance reform bill with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), again illustrating his well known willingness to work with Republicans on issues he considered important. Often aligned with the "Prairie Populists" on the agriculture committee, Kerrey was an active participant in many of the committee's issues, from seed trade to futures trading.

Despite Kerrey's own popularity, Nebraska almost always votes Republican in presidential elections, and his decision to retire puts his senatorial seat in jeopardy for the Democrats. A Democratic Senate takeover, already unlikely, will now be substantially more difficult, and many Democratic strategists may turn their attention increasingly to House races, where their prospects are much better.

Kerrey is the fourth Senate Democrat to retire next year. Kerrey has reportedly received an offer to become president of New York City's New School University but said he had not made any decisions about his future.