By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,091)

Senator Olympia Snowe announced earlier today that she will not seek re-election to her US Senate seat for her fourth term. Senator Snowe is considered to be a moderate Republican. She cited the high level of acrimony in Washington, D.C. and her belief that it will not change in the short-term as her reason for not seeking re-election.

“I want to thank Senator Snowe for her decades of service to the people of Maine. From her time in the House to her three terms in the Senator, Senator Snowe has shown her independence and dedication to Maine. I called Senator Snow earlier to wish her and her husband all the best in the next stage of her life,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in a statement released earlier.

Senator Snowe was born on February 21, 1947 in Augusta, Maine. Her parents died when she was young and she was raised by an aunt and uncle, the late Mary and James Goranites, of Auburn.

Senator Snowe is married to John R. McKernan, a former Governor of the State of Maine; her second husband. They have a home in Falmouth Foreside.