Bryan Dims Democrats’ Senate Hopes
LAS VEGAS — Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard H. Bryan said Thursday he won’t run for a third term, dealing the second blow in two days to his party’s hopes of retaking control of the Senate in 2000.
Bryan, 61, said it was “time to come home” and “experience different challenges.” A key factor in the decision, Bryan said, was that he and his wife’s three children will become parents this year.
On Wednesday, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey said he did not want to spend the next two years raising campaign money.
Their decisions, coupled with New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s announcement in November that he won’t run, give Republicans competitive opportunities in three states where Democratic incumbents would have been favored to win.
Republicans hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate, and must defend 19 seats next year, compared with 14 for the Democrats.
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