Oct 6, 2020 3 min read

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey said Monday that he will not run for reelection when his term ends in 2022, and instead plans to enter the private sector.

“I’m looking forward to more time back at home,” said Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2011.

Toomey also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2004.

When his current term ends, Toomey said he will have been in public office for 18 years, with a six-year hiatus in between his terms in the House and the Senate.

“Eighteen years is a long time,” Toomey said, adding that his decision was consistent with his view on term limits.

Toomey said he felt as though he had to be candid and upfront about his decision, as he receives daily calls from people wanting to help with his reelection campaign, wanting to host a fundraiser or help him run for governor.

As Pennsylvania’s only statewide-elected Republican official outside of the courts, Toomey had been widely considered the favorite to be the gubernatorial nominee in 2022, when Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf ends his last term.

With both offices open in 2022, Democrats have a bench of prospects who have won statewide races – Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and state Treasurer Joe Torsella – and a statewide voter registration advantage over Republicans.

Republicans are left without any natural heir or obvious front runner for either governor or U.S. Senate.

The last time anything similar happened was in 2010, when then-Gov. Ed Rendell was term-limited and then-U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties to become a Democrat in his reelection bid. He was beaten in the primary.

The advantage is likely to go to the party that loses November’s presidential elections. In mid-term elections, the party of the president tends to lose seats in Congress.

Toomey said Monday that he is pleased with the work that he has done, with a focus on policies he believes helped maximize opportunities for prosperity in Pennsylvania and across the country. He cited his work on tax reform, trade policies, the opioid crisis and fighting for victims of crime among those things he’s been most proud of.

“These are some of the things I’ve focused on and I will continue to focus on over the course of these next two years,” Toomey said, thanking the people of Pennsylvania, his colleagues, his staff and his family.

Toomey has also worked in the financial services industry, served as president of the Club for Growth and owned and operated a small restaurant chain in the Lehigh Valley with his brothers.

“Representing the people of Pennsylvania has been an extraordinary and amazing honor and still is,” Toomey said. “It is the highlight of my professional life.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.