Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) To Retire

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) announced today that he will not seek reelection in 2014.

"These issues will have an enormous impact on the people of Michigan and the nation for years to come and we need ot confront them," he wrote. "I can think of no better way to spend the next two years than to devote all of my energy and attention to taking on these challenges." Levin's departure could come at a bad time for Democrats as they look for a strong candidate to take on Republican Gov. Rick Snyder but Michigan has had few Republicans succeed at winning U.S. Senate seats in recent elections – the most recent being Spencer Abraham in 1994, who served one term before being beaten by the state's junior senator, Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

Levin voted for DOMA in 1996, but voted against a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2006. He supported ENDA, the Hate Crimes Act, and voted for the repeal of DADT. In 2010 the Human Rights Campaign gave Levin a 96% rating.