Branden Petersen announces he won't seek re-election to MN Senate

Sen. Branden Petersen, R-Andover, who was elected to the House in 2010 at the age of 24 and to the Senate in 2012, announced Monday he will not seek another term in 2016, citing family and financial obligations.

Petersen, who was a co-sponsor and the sole Republican senator to vote for the measure legalizing gay marriage in 2013, is not going quietly. Although he will leave with a strongly conservative voting record, Petersen said the Legislature needs a broader, more diverse array of citizen legislators and more lawmakers willing to question perceived dogma, be it in the Legislature or in their own party.

“When the rubber meets the road, group psychology is pretty powerful and plays itself out in ways that I don’t think always serve the interests of the constituents,” he said in an interview Monday.

http://www.startribune.com/branden-petersen-announces-he-won-t-seek-re-election-to-mn-senate/311884341/