Longtime U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller has decided his fifth term in the U.S. Senate will be his last and his family supports the decision.
“We are looking at it as like a transition in his life,” said Rockefeller’s son Charles. “We always support him in whatever he does.”
Sen. Rockefeller, 75, announced Friday in Charleston that he will not run for re-election in 2014, putting an end to his 50-year political career once his fifth term is up.
“This was the right time for him,” the senator’s son said. “He struggled with the decision but then once he worked through some of that he was at peace with it.”
Charles Rockefeller said two areas highlight his father’s political career.
“We will say healthcare and the Coal Act. Those two were the ones, from observing him as his son, were the ones he was most passionate about,” said Charles.
Rockefeller authored in the 2011 Children’s Health Insurance program which covered 40,000 West Virginia children and 8 million nationwide. He backed coal miners by pushing the passage of the Coal Act of 1992, which helped prevent a nationwide coal strike and preserved health benefits for 200,000 retired miners and their families.
Charles said his father will leave behind a great legacy.
“It’s like a great American political story,” said Charles. “He really found his soul here.”