Sen. Jon Kyl announced today that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Kyl was one of the chief architects of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibits financial institutions from processing transactions related to online gambling.
The Arizona senator is the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, just behind Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and the leading opponent to online gambling in Congress. Because Senate rules give individual Senators a great deal of power -- especially those in leadership positions -- Kyl was a significant obstacle to passing online gaming legislation in the Senate.
In December's lame duck session of Congress, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted (and failed) to attach online poker legislation to must-pass legislation as a way to bypass Kyl's objections.
Arizona is traditionally considered a Republican state. The last time Arizona elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1988.
