Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard will not run for a third term in 2008, he announced Monday at a press conference in the state capital of Denver. The 63-year-old Allard, whose retirement had long been the subject of speculation in national and state political circles, told Congressional Quarterly reporter Daphne Retter last Thursday that he had made a decision and would be unveiling it soon.
Allard pledged when he first ran for the Senate in 1996 that he would serve no more than two terms — which he cited in his retirement announcement Monday. “The people of Colorado placed their trust in me based on a promise I made to them and I am honoring that promise. In an age when promises are cast away as quickly as yesterday’s newspaper, I believe a promise made should be a promise kept,” Allard said, according to an Associated Press report.
Allard, a veterinarian, began his political career with a state Senate win in 1982. After eight years in the legislature, he won a U.S. House seat in 1990 and serve for three terms. Allard then twice defeated Democratic lawyer Tom Strickland for the Senate. |