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On May 2, Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey announced that he would not run for Senator Tom Harkin’s open seat in the 2014 midterm elections. Northey says he weighed the decision carefully both politically and with his family and found that he preferred his position as Iowa Agriculture Secretary. Northey cites current developments in agriculture such as changes in international trade and the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy as reasons to remain in his current role.
Despite removing himself from the running for Harkin’s Senate seat, Northey says he’s still looking ahead to 2014.
I haven’t announced that I’m running for Secretary of Ag for next year; I think that’s likely where I’ll be. I’ve been so focused on getting stuff done and figuring out whether I was interested in running for the Senate seat.
My next decision is running for Secretary of Ag in 2014, and what that would take, and preparing for that. After that, I have no idea.
I love this job. I came to do this job. I feel very blessed to be able to have it. There may be other opportunities, and I certainly would be a very, very happy guy to be a Secretary of Ag a term or two more.
