Middlebury Senator Carlin Yoder has announced he won't run for a third term.
Yoder says the long drive from northern Indiana leaves him away from his family too much. He says he's got two kids playing basketball, and he and his wife are in the midst of adopting their fifth child.
“We have four kids, three still at home, and we’re in the middle of adopting another child who is not an infant, so a little older, and I’m three hours away from the Statehouse,” Yoder says.
Yoder sponsored Indiana's right-to-work law and this year's repeal of the common construction wage, and has been a leading advocate of private-school vouchers. As chairman of the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee, he's likely to preside over hearings this session on a road funding plan.
Yoder is district director for Congressman Marlin Stutzman (R-3rd), who's leaving that seat to run for the U.S. Senate. There's been speculation Yoder might run for Stutzman’s seat in Congress or the seat of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-2nd).
Yoder doesn’t rule out a run for Congress someday, but says it almost certainly won’t be in 2016.
“The circumstances would have to drastically change for me to consider that,” Yoder says. “I’ve kept my eye on it and I will probably keep my eye on it moving forward, but I doubt 2016 is the right time for me because of the family.”
Yoder is the fourth senator to announce he won't run for reelection next year, joining fellow Republicans Scott Schneider (R-Indianapolis), Brent Waltz (R-Greenwood) and Brent Steele (R-Bedford).
