WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Democratic Senator Ben Nelson said on Tuesday that he will retire next year, dealing a significant blow to his party's hopes of keeping control of the Senate after the November 2012 elections.
Nelson, a former Nebraska governor, said he felt it was time for him to leave elective office and seek new ways to serve his state and his country.
"I'm announcing today that I will not seek re-election. Simply put, it's time to move on," Nelson, 70, said in a video statement.
Nelson's decision not to seek re-election makes his seat in heavily Republican Nebraska a strong contender to be a gain for Republicans in November elections next year, boosting their hopes of wresting control of the chamber from Democrats. Republicans already control the House of Representatives.
Nelson was seen as vulnerable. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had spent more than $1 million to shore up his re-election campaign and it must now scramble to find a replacement candidate.
The Democrats' slender majority in the Senate is under threat next year. Republicans only have to defend 10 seats, while 23 Democratic senators are up for re-election, including other vulnerable incumbents in Ohio, Missouri, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Democrats now hold 51 Senate seats. Republicans control 47, and there are two independents.
The conservative Tea Party Express, which had named Nelson as one of its top targets for defeat in 2012, hailed news of his impending retirement as a victory.
"There is no doubt that he felt our heat of the Tea Party and decided that he was not up for the fight," the organization said in a fundraising letter.
It is unclear who might replace Nelson as the Democratic candidate. Former Senator Bob Kerrey, a popular figure in Nebraska, has been widely talked about as a possible replacement, but he has not said whether he would enter the race.
The Republican field is led by state Attorney General Jon Bruning.
(Reporting By Tim Reid and JoAnne Allen in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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