Sen. Dan Coats

Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) today announced that he will not seek re-election in 2016:

“Today I am announcing that I will not seek re-election to the United States Senate. This was not an easy decision. While I believe I am well-positioned to run a successful campaign for another six-year term, I have concluded that the time has come to pass this demanding job to the next generation of leaders.

“Until the end of my Senate term, I pledge to my constituents that I will continue to focus all of my time and energy on the major challenges that Hoosiers sent me to Washington to address.

“I am grateful to God and to Hoosiers who allowed me to serve my state and my country. I am particularly thankful for the unqualified support of my wife Marsha and our family. Regarding this decision, they were 100 percent in favor of whatever choice I would make.

“Marsha and I look forward to continued engagement in Indiana in many other ways.”

From 1981 to 1999, Coats served in the United States Congress, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. In keeping with a term-limits pledge he made to Hoosiers, Coats stepped down from his Senate seat in 1999.

In 2001, Coats was named U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, arriving in country only three days before the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. As ambassador, Coats played a critical role in establishing robust relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in the construction of a new United States Embassy in the heart of Berlin.

Coats returned to the Senate in 2011 and currently serves on the finance, select intelligence and joint economic committees. Coats is chairman of the bicameral Joint Economic Committee.

Dan and Marsha Coats met in college and have three adult children and 10 grandchildren.

Pence, Sutzman Respond To News

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence issued the following statement upon learning Coats will not seek re-election.

“With his decision to retire from the United States Senate at the end of his current term, Senator Dan Coats will bring to a close an extraordinary career in public service marked by humility, integrity, and a commitment to principled conservative leadership. Through his long career in public service, whether it be his time in uniform, his service in the U.S. House and Senate or as our Ambassador to Germany, few Hoosiers have made a greater contribution to our state or nation in public service than Senator Dan Coats.

“While we greet this news with mixed emotions, we will always be grateful for the example, life and service of Senator Dan Coats and his family. We look forward to working with the Senator during the remainder of his term, and Karen and I wish Dan and Marsha every happiness upon his retirement.”

Stutzman, representing the 3rd Congressional District, released this statement:

“Senator Dan Coats has been one of the finest public servants the Hoosier State has had over the last several decades. From his time in the House of Representatives, throughout his three terms in the Senate, and as the United States Ambassador to Germany, Dan Coats always put the interests of the his fellow Americans first. He is someone we can all admire.

“As a fine family man he is full of accomplishments both personally and professionally. I’d like to congratulate him on a wonderful career in public service and I wish the Coats family all the best. He will certainly be missed on Capitol Hill but I look forward to working with him as he completes the rest of his term.”