Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who announced Saturday he would not be seeking re-election in 2014, declined in an interview with the Des Moines Register to say who he wants to see replace him.
“This really opens up a lot of opportunity and it really cascades down,” Harkin told the Register. “I don’t know who. I’m sure very shortly people will be stepping up. I certainly don’t want to be in any position of trying to hand-pick my successor. The Democrats will decide that.”
Asked specifically about Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA), who the paper said was favored by Iowa Democrats, Harkin was noncommittal.
“Certainly he is one of the most talked about that I hear about from my fellow Democrats,” Harkin said, adding: “Let’s take a little breath and see what happens in the next week or so and see what emerges.”
