Senator Johnny Isakson will retire from the United States Senate at the end of 2019 as more health issues arise.
What We Know:
- Senator Johnny Isakson is a Georgia Republican. Isakson, 74, announced on Wednesday, August 28, 2019, that he will be stepping down from office effective December 31, 2019. He released a statement letting the public now that his Parkinson’s has advanced and that he also had surgery on his kidney at the beginning of the week.
- Previously, he has been undergoing physical therapy since a fall in July. The fall resulted in two back surgeries and a broken rib.
- In the Senator’s statement, he says “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.”
- He was initially elected into the Senate in 2005 and re-elected in 2016. His term was supposed to end in January 2023.
- Isakson serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Finance; and Foreign Relations committees and is the chair of the Senate Ethics and Veterans Affairs committees.
- The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp will choose his replacement for the rest of the term then the official election to fill Isakson’s Senate seat will take place on general election day 2020. The election for his seat will be a very heated one as Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
Many senators, including Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner, expressed admiration for him as he has had positive relationships with both sides despite the growing divide in the Senate.
Folks on both sides of the aisle are going to miss @SenatorIsakson. He’s a gentleman who’s spent his career looking for common ground and actually trying to accomplish something in Washington. Wishing Johnny and Dianne all the best today.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 28, 2019
