Longtime Minnesota GOP senator retiring, cites frustration with partisanship
ST. PAUL -- A senior Republican state senator says she'll leave the Minnesota Legislature after this term, citing frustration with deepened partisan divides at the Capitol.
Sen. Claire Robling of Jordan announced her decision Friday. She is completing her fifth term for a seat she first won in 1996. Robling is the third most-tenured GOP senator and serves as the chairwoman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
Her departure adds to a growing list of lawmakers choosing to leave voluntarily instead of stand for re-election in November when all 201 seats are on the line.
In a news release, Robling said she fears "that statesmen are vanishing as partisanship deepens" at the Capitol, and expressed frustration that common-sense measures are too often stalled.
