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FILE: Dec. 31, 2012: Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.(AP)

Indiana Republican Sen. Dan Coats said Tuesday he is retiring from the Senate and will not seek re-election in 2016.

The 71-year-old Coats said he thought he could win a third term but decided now is the time to allow a new era of lawmakers to compete for the seat.

This was not an easy decision, Coats said in his announcement. I have concluded that the time has come to pass this demanding job to the next generation of leaders.

He becomes the third senator this election cycle to announce plans to retire rather than seek re-election. The others are Democrats Barbara Boxer of California and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had forecast that Republicans would likely retain the seat if Coats sought re-election.

However, Montana Sen. John Tester, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is now calling the bid for the open seat one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.

We're confident that we will find a great candidate who will put Indiana first and win this seat in 2016," Tester said.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker says his party has a deep field of viable potential candidates to help his party retain the seat.

We have a strong Republican bench in Indiana, and I am confident we will have another capable Republican joining us in the Senate in 2016 to continue Dans great work, Wicker said.

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Indiana Republican Sen. Coats to retire, won't seek third term in 2016

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday sought to deflect criticism about his $20 million campaign fund stocked with six-figure contributions from wealthy Republican donors by highlighting the support he's received from several unions.

The mayor joined members of a union representing hospitality workers to watch a series of new "Rahm Love" TV ads the union has started to air.

The event, held at the union's Loop office, came as Emanuel has continued to collect large campaign contributions. During a single day last week, the mayor reported raising $1.2 million, and this month Republican billionaire Ken Griffin gave $500,000 to an Emanuel-aligned super political action committee that has been airing attack ads against challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

Emanuel has raised more than $20 million compared with about $3.2 million for Garcia, who has suggested the mayor is trying to buy the election. Garcia frequently references a Beatles song when taking shots at the mayor's fundraising, saying, "Money can't buy you love."

Asked Monday to address the large sums he's raised, including some from Griffin, Emanuel sought to convey that his campaign also is supported by everyday Chicagoans.

"None of these people look like Ken Griffin to me. They look like people who are building a Chicago," Emanuel said of the hospitality workers he had just finished visiting. "These are the people that make sure Chicago wins."

Emanuel then tried to offset his support from wealthy business owners and Wall Street investment executives with the backing he's received from several unions.

"While you may want to say Ken Griffin or other people, then you have to also include all the members of (the hospitality workers union), all the members of the carpenters union, all the members of the electrician workers, all the Teamsters, all the laborers, all the bricklayers, all the painters and the thousands of people who are building a new Chicago," Emanuel said. "They are not from the 1 percent, but I'll tell you who they are. They're Chicago's future."

Emanuel rarely uses the term "1 percent," as it alludes to the "Mayor 1 Percent" nickname that opponents gave him.

Griffin, estranged wife Anne Dias Griffin and employees of his trading firm Citadel have contributed more than $1.3 million to the mayor's campaign and the Emanuel-aligned super PAC Chicago Forward since 2010. Griffin also has been a major backer of Gov. Bruce Rauner, contributing $4.9 million to the Republican's campaign and another $8 million since the governor's election.

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Emanuel tries to counter Republican donor criticism with 'love' ads

The 2016 presidential campaign has its first official candidate. Republican Ted Cruz jumped into the race for the presidency, announcing his intentions in a tweet at 12:09 am EDT Monday morning.

"I'm running for president and I hope to earn your support!" the firebrand Texas senator tweeted simply with an embedded video.

"It's a time for truth, a time to rise to the challenge, just as Americans have always done," Cruz says in the 30-second video, which shows pictures of Americana baseball, the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges, men walking in a factory. "I believe in America and her people, and I believe we can stand up and restore our promise. It's going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again. And I'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight."

Though several candidates are testing the presidential waters in what is expected to be another crowded Republican field, Cruz is the first major candidate to outright declare he is running.

Cruz trails in early presidential primary polls. He pulled in just 4 percent of Republican primary voters in the latest CNN/ORC poll. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Republicans split on whether they could support Cruz 40 to 38 percent.

But the ideological hard-liner and his team hope he can capitalize on his popularity with the Tea Party and his reputation as an outspoken fighter against both Democrats and the Republican establishment.

Cruz is set to hold a more traditional announcement event Monday at Liberty University in Virginia. The setting is emblematic of the path Cruz hopes to carve out to the nomination. Liberty claims to be the largest evangelical Christian university in the world. It was founded by evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell in 1971.

For Cruz, that means a focus of his campaign will be on rallying religious conservatives. And that's especially important in Iowa and South Carolina, two key early states where voters in the GOP nominating contests are overwhelmingly white and a majority evangelical.

Entrance polls in 2012, for example, found that 99 percent of voters in the Iowa Republican caucuses were white and 57 percent described themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians. In South Carolina, voters were 98 percent white and 65 percent born-again or evangelical, according to exit polls.

Pat Robertson, another evangelical pastor, was the first to capitalize on the strength of the evangelical vote in Iowa. In 1988, "Robertson's Army" helped him past Vice President George H.W. Bush for a second-place finish in the caucuses. Ever since, GOP candidates have been trying to replicate what Robertson was able to pull off.

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Republican Ted Cruz announces run for president

Rachel Maddow Toe Tags republican Deadbeat aaron schock - March 18, 2015
gop deadbeat and drain on Illinois Taxpayers, aaron schock, is resigning effective March 31, 2015, after numerous scandals concerning his repeated illegal use of Taxpayer money have plagued...

By: mccainisthroughX

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Rachel Maddow Toe Tags republican Deadbeat aaron schock - March 18, 2015 - Video

Kristi Noem Discusses the House Republican Budget
Kristi Noem discusses the House Republican Budget on Fox News #39; Neil Cavuto.

By: House Republicans

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Kristi Noem Discusses the House Republican Budget - Video