Danforth, in Blow to GOP, Says He Won’t Run Again

ST. LOUIS —  Sen. John C. Danforth (R-Mo.), who sponsored Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court, announced Monday that he will not seek a fourth term next year.

He said he wants to return to practicing law and to fulfill a commitment to the Episcopal Church. He is an ordained minister.

“Public service, however enjoyable, is only a part of life,” he said at an airport news conference attended by his wife and two of his three daughters.

Danforth, 56, served two terms as Missouri attorney general before being elected to the Senate in 1976. He was reelected in 1982 and 1988.

Danforth said there was no particular reason for the timing of his announcement. He said he had been thinking of retirement since the latter stages of the 1988 campaign. He once said two terms were enough for any senator.

Danforth, an heir to the Ralston-Purina fortune, is a moderate Republican. A member of the Senate Finance Committee, he is known for supporting a tough retaliatory foreign trade policy, transportation safety and efforts to expand and modernize air transportation.

Danforth is the first senator to announce plans to retire before the 1994 elections, which Republicans have seen as an opportunity to regain control of the Senate. Danforth’s retirement is a blow to Republican hopes because Democrats may now be able to compete for the seat, which probably would have been safe for the GOP as long as Danforth sought to fill it.

The retirement of Danforth also is a setback to the party’s dwindling moderate wing in Congress, which is under strong challenge from conservatives in both houses.

An aide to Rep. Alan Wheat (D-Mo.), a black lawmaker who has won six terms in the predominantly white Kansas City area, said Monday that Wheat “will be taking a serious look at making a run” for Danforth’s seat.