Finance Chairman Baucus Announces Decision Not to Seek Re-Election to Senate

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) April 23 announced that he will not seek re-election to the Senate in 2014.

Baucus has served as committee chairman since 2007 and had two short stints as chairman in 2001 and 2002.

The six-term senator played a key role in crafting the Affordable Care Act, but the unpopularity of that legislation in Montana has emboldened Republican challengers, and he was expected to face a tough re-election effort, despite having about $5 million in his campaign war chest.

Baucus also has been unpopular with some members of his own party. In the health ...