Sen. Pat Toomey to retire from politics in blow to GOP. Sen. Pat Toomey, the lone Republican holding statewide office in Pennsylvania, will not seek re-election and will not run for governor, he announced Monday. And so the Republican outlook for ongoing control of the Senate is looking even more bleak. “When I’ve disagreed with him, which I have, I haven’t been bashful about saying so,” said Toomey. source: Philadelphia Inquirer U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey has decided not to run for reelection or for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, according to two people familiar with his plans, a surprise decision by the Republican with significant implications for the state’s next elections. The two-term senator and former House member asserted that “if I decided to run I would have won again.” Toomey defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in 2016 by 1.5 percentage points, a victory that helped provide McConnell’s six-year majority that he’s now in danger of losing. Toomey, 58, said he had been getting calls “almost on a daily basis” from people who wanted to help him run for office in 2022. It will also open a prime Senate target for national Democrats, regardless of who controls the chamber after this year’s election. The two-term fiscal conservative said he decided within the past few days to bow out of politics and head to the private sector and decided to disclose his plans in the middle of the 2020 presidential campaign because he wanted to be transparent. He also was the co-author of bipartisan legislation expanding background checks for firearms, which was filibustered by Republicans. His responses to reporters in the Senate hallways are often curt as he dashes from his office to the Senate floor, but he’s also been among the most willing Republicans to criticize Trump, sometimes mildly and other times with gusto. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party on Sunday pointed to poll numbers to explain Toomey's decision. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. “I will not be running for reelection in 2022 and I will not be running for governor,” said Toomey, explaining he will serve the remainder of his term before returning to the private sector. The Republican senator is expected to finish out his current term, but will not run for reelection or pursue a GOP bid, ending his political career, the Inquirer reports. Have a confidential tip for our reporters? "I've made a decision, it's not going to change, and I want everybody to know," Toomey said. He narrowly won that race and his reelection bid in 2016, after waiting until Election Day to announce he would vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Toomey won his first House race in 1998 and won reelection twice. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) speaks at the podium during a press conference at the U.S. Customs House on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa. Toomey released a statement for Congress to act in the wake of the mass … Though a die-hard fiscal conservative, Toomey occasionally broke with his party. A spokesperson at Toomey's Senate office declined comment when asked about the senator’s plans. The Associated Press also reported Toomey would not run again, citing a person with direct knowledge of his plans. “But that has nothing to do with this decision.”. "Pat Toomey has spent his entire term working for special interests, trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and giving handouts to the ultra-wealthy.