Isakson, the chairman of the Senate’s Ethics and Veterans’ Affairs committees, will leave after decades in elected office, claiming the distinction as the only Georgian ever elected to the state House, state Senate, US House and US Senate.
In a statement, Isakson said he had surgery to remove a growth on his kidney this week and was still recovering from a fall in July that fractured four ribs, all while his Parkinson’s disease continued to progress.
“I am leaving a job I love because my health challenges are taking their toll on me, my family and my staff,” said Isakson. “With the mounting health challenges I am facing, I have concluded that I will not be able to do the job over the long term in the manner the citizens of Georgia deserve. It goes against every fiber of my being to leave in the middle of my Senate term, but I know it’s the right thing to do on behalf of my state.”
Republican governor can appoint replacement before special election
The new vacancy will reinforce the perception that Georgia is one of the most important battlegrounds in the 2020 election.
The state will have two Senate seats on the ballot. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement for Isakson until a special election held in November 2020 will determine who will fill the remainder of his term — the same time Republican Sen. David Perdue is up for reelection. Isakson’s seat will be up for a full, six-year term in 2022.
Some Democrats also hope to make Georgia, where Donald Trump bested Hillary Clinton by just 5 percentage points in 2016 and the GOP won an even closer governor’s race last year — as well as fellow Sun Belt states Arizona and Texas, which have also moved rapidly leftward in recent years — competitive in the presidential race.
The top Democratic prospect for the Senate race would have been Stacey Abrams, the former state House Democratic leader who became a national star during her narrow loss in last year’s governor’s race.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
