State Senator Walter Blevins Retires in the Wake of Redistricting

Redistricting in the Kentucky Senate has claimed another Democrat: Walter Blevins.The outspoken but soft-spoken senator will not seek re-election in the district he's been drawn into with Republican Senator Robert Stivers.“This is my 31^st year," Blevins says. "It’s just time to try something different. Look at my options, see what I’ve got. Of course I’ve also been through cancer this past year and married to a lovely wife and I want to spend time with her.”In his place, Blevins has endorsed Ralph Hoskins, a former school superintendent. Hoskins says he’s ready to run against Stivers, who is the Senate's Republican leader.Blevins is not ruling out future runs for political office."I’m a young man still," he says. "I’m 62, so I’m still young. I’ve got opportunities to look down the road and see what I want to do.”Blevins is the seventh state senator to retire this year.