BATON ROUGE, La. — John Breaux, a moderate Democratic senator and one of the few bipartisan dealmakers left in Congress, announced Monday that he will not run for re-election next year, becoming the fifth southern Democrat to abandon the Senate.
Breaux, who has represented Louisiana in Congress for 31 years, was often the one Democrats and Republicans would turn to when they needed someone to cut through partisan gridlock and broker compromises, as Breaux did on the recent Medicare legislation. His departure is seen as not only a crippling blow to Democratic efforts to regain control of the Senate but also as a setback to across-the-aisle cooperation.
On Monday, Breaux stood in front of a crowd in a Baton Rouge ballroom and said it was time to move on.
"To sign on for another six years was more than I was ready to commit to at this stage of life," said Breaux, who is 59. "There is something to be said about retiring at the appropriate time, when you're at the top of your game."
Breaux's announcement further complicated a precarious few days for Democrats.
The capture of Saddam Hussein over the weekend, the most triumphal moment for the Bush administration since American forces ousted the Iraqi leader, could rob Democrats of an issue they have increasingly used to challenge the president.
And now the Democrats must reckon with a safe Senate seat sliding into the contested zone, in a state that has been a holdout in the Republican-controlled South. Aside for a brief period during Reconstruction last century, Louisiana has never elected a Republican senator.
"This is a big loss for the Democrats," said Doug Brinkley, a historian at the University of New Orleans. "Republicans have been gaining a stronghold in the South and Louisiana has been able to resist it, partly thanks to John Breaux. He has been able to navigate the conservative currents of the state and remain a progressive Democrat. It's been a sublime act."
The other four other southern Democrats who are retiring from the Senate are: Bob Graham of Florida; John Edwards of North Carolina; Ernest Hollings of South Carolina and Zell Miller of Georgia.