LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Longtime Kentucky state Sen. Dan Seum says he is retiring.
News outlets report the Louisville Republican sent a letter to Gov. Matt Bevin on Thursday saying he will retire from his seat Nov. 16. Seum’s retirement would end a 35-year career in the Kentucky General Assembly.
The 80-year-old Seum crossed party lines in August and endorsed Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear in his race for governor against Bevin, a fellow Republican.
In a video announcing his support for Beshear, Seum blasted the governor’s handling of the state pension issue and Bevin’s high-profile feud with some public education groups.
Seum served in the state House as a Democrat from 1982 to 1988, before moving to the Senate. Seum switched to GOP in 1999, giving Republicans majority control of the chamber.