Two senators in their mid-sixties recently announced they wouldn’t run for re-election. Retiring at that age is standard across the country, but in the Senate, it’s uncommon.
In a chamber that rewards incumbents, senators often stick around for decades, moving up the ranks to chair powerful committees and build coalitions. That’s what makes Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) unusual.
The pair of Midwestern senators, who announced in the last month they’d retire, are both 66 — or young in Washington terms. It’s been eight years since the last time multiple incumbent senators their age or younger announced ...