Statement from United States Senator Dan Coats on 2016 Senate Election:
WASHINGTON, DC (March 24, 2015) – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) today announced that he will not seek re-election in 2016:
“Today I am announcing that I will not seek re-election to the United States Senate. This was not an easy decision. While I believe I am well-positioned to run a successful campaign for another six-year term, I have concluded that the time has come to pass this demanding job to the next generation of leaders.
“Until the end of my Senate term, I pledge to my constituents that I will continue to focus all of my time and energy on the major challenges that Hoosiers sent me to Washington to address.
“I am grateful to God and to Hoosiers who allowed me to serve my state and my country. I am particularly thankful for the unqualified support of my wife Marsha and our family. Regarding this decision, they were 100 percent in favor of whatever choice I would make.
“Marsha and I look forward to continued engagement in Indiana in many other ways.”
From 1981 to 1999, Coats served in the United States Congress, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. In keeping with a term-limits pledge he made to Hoosiers, Coats stepped down from his Senate seat in 1999.
In 2001, Coats was named U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, arriving in country only three days before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As Ambassador, Coats played a critical role in establishing robust relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in the construction of a new United States Embassy in the heart of Berlin.
Coats returned to the Senate in 2011 and currently serves on the Finance, Select Intelligence and Joint Economic Committees. Coats is chairman of the bicameral Joint Economic Committee.
Dan and Marsha Coats met in college and have three adult children and ten grandchildren.