Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) To Retire

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) announced tonight that he will not run for reelection in 2012, making him the fifth Senate Democrat to declare their retirement at the end of the current term. Akaka was first appointed to the Senate in 1990 after Sen. Spark Matsunaga died of prostate cancer.

After months of thinking about my political future, I am announcing today that I have decided not to run for re-election in 2012. As many of you can imagine, it was a very difficult decision for me. However, I feel that the end of this Congress is the right time for me to step aside. It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of Hawaii. In 2006, the people of Hawaii gave me an opportunity to continue my service in the United States Senate and I fully intend to serve the last two years of my term in office.

I guess it's time for another look at the below worrisome map. Democrats have 23 Senate seats up for election in 2012, the GOP has only ten.