Pryor Confirms Plan to Give Up Seat in Senate
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.), a fixture in Arkansas politics for more than three decades, confirmed Friday his plan to retire, the fifth Senate Democrat who has decided against seeking reelection.
His planned retirement, which had been reported earlier, opens the door for Arkansas Republicans to send a senator to Washington for the first time in more than a century. Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee would be an early favorite for the Republican nomination. Huckabee is a conservative but has worked to avoid alienating Democrats.
The 60-year-old Pryor still is immensely popular in his home state, having been a state legislator, congressman and governor.
He won his third term in 1990, facing only a write-in opponent and taking 99.8% of the vote.
He suffered a heart attack in April, 1991, and underwent heart-bypass surgery in November, 1992.
However, Pryor said neither his health nor the Republican takeover of Congress prompted his decision, which he said he made long before the 1994 elections.
“There comes a time, I think, when one should step aside, and for me that time has come,” Pryor told more than 250 well-wishers at his announcement.
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