Sen. Lamar Alexander announces retirement. Here comes the Tennessee GOP 2020 primary brawl

On Monday, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate at the end of his term in 2020.

"I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020," Alexander, 78, said in a statement.

"It is time for someone else to have that privilege," he continued.

In a career spanning decades, Alexander, a veteran, served as both governor and then as U.S. senator for Tennessee. He was also the United States secretary of education for President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993.

A moderate, Alexander holds one of the most liberal voting records for a Republican in the Senate. His vacant seat in the 2020 election will invite a contested Republican primary and an opportunity for conservatives to campaign to elect a more consistently conservative senator.

In the hours since Alexander's announcement, names of possible candidates are already floating around. Both Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Rep.-elect Mark Green, R-Tenn., are possible contenders, among others.

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