Sen. Dan Seum, Republican who endorsed Democrat in Ky. governor’s race, is retiring
Longtime Kentucky Sen. Dan Seum, who broke party lines to endorse Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear for governor, has announced plans to retire.
Seum, R-Louisville, “filed for retirement” on Thursday, the website KyMedicalMarijuana.net reported Friday morning.
Seum, 79, told the Courier-Journal Friday that at his age, he felt it was time to retire, but also that he was disappointed in the Republican Party and Gov. Matt Bevin.
“We have a governor who has failed miserably on the pension issue and spent the last year running around the state insulting everyone, including the four teachers in my family,” Seum said when he endorsed Beshear last summer.
Seum, who has long advocated for the decriminalization of marijuana, told the Courier-Journal that Kentucky’s failure to legalize the drug is his biggest regret as he leaves office. He told the newspaper he was “most proud of the fact that no one has ever questioned my integrity.”
Seum held the leadership position of majority caucus chair in the Senate until this past legislative session, when Louisville Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams took his place.
He began his tenure in the state legislature in 1982, serving in the House of Representatives until 1988. He served in the Senate from 1989 to 1992 and has been in the Senate continuously since 1995.
In 1999, Seum switched from the Democratic Party to become a Republican, giving the Republicans control of the Kentucky Senate.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said Friday night that leadership was not commenting on Seum’s retirement at this time.
Seum’s last day in office will be Nov. 16, WLEX reported. He represents South Louisville and Bullitt County.
Herald-Leader political writer Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.
