Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer announced that she will not run for reelection in 2016, setting up a big money political battle for her seat in the nation's most populous state, CNN noted.
Boxer, the 74-year-old Democratic junior Senator from California, said that she is not retiring altogether and will continue working on "the issues that I love" through her political action committee, PAC for a Change. Boxer was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
Boxer is considered very progressive. In 2013, she was among those who praised the House's passage of the HOPE Act (HIV Organ Policy Equity Act), legislation that would end the federal ban on research into organ donations from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive recipients.
"Senator Boxer has been a trailblazing champion of equality for LGBT people since her earliest days in public office," said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement. "She was a leader against DOMA and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' when many of her colleagues either championed or quietly voted for the discriminatory legislation. LGBT Americans need more principled leaders like Barbara Boxer fighting for full equality. We congratulate and thank her for her exceptional years of service and look forward to continuing to work with her throughout the remainder of her term."
From a National LGBTQ Task Force press release
WASHINGTON, DC, January 8, 2015 Today, United States Senator Barbara Boxer ( D-California ) announced she would not be seeking re-election in 2016.
"The National LGBTQ Task Force joins LGBTQ advocates across the country in thanking U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer for building a lasting legacy of fairness, justice, and equality. Senator Boxer fought long and hard to advance LGBTQ equality, women's rights, reproductive justice, environmental protections, and to secure good paying U.S.-based jobs.
"Senator Boxer's shoes will be tough to fill due to her exceptional track record to secure equality for all: from leading the fight against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' to pushing to get Professor Anita Hill a hearing in the Senate during the confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas, to standing up against California's anti-marriage equality law Proposition 8, to the more recent passage of the HOPE Act to lift the ban on organ donations from HIV positive donors."
Stacey Long Simmons, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, National LGBTQ Task Force.