Indiana State Sen. Mark Stoops (D-Bloomington) announced Friday he will retire from his position after his current term ends in 2020.
A news release from the Indiana Senate Democrats says Stoops will continue to represent District 40 in the 2020 legislative session. Stoops served as a state senator for seven years, and held local elected office for 14 years.
Stoops says he felt it was his duty to be a progressive voice in the State Senate and wanted to represent people whose voices were not often heard in the mainstream dialogue within the legislature.
He says gerrymandering presents a challenge for representing the true interests of Hoosiers.
"If I were in a different district in this state, I would not be a state senator," he says.
Stoops says he is confident that his successor will stand up for the same ideals that he himself championed.
He did not rule out a future run for public office.
Most recently, Stoops joined other legislators at the Third Annual South Central Indiana Opioid Summit in September, where he expressed his support for harm reduction programs.
In 2018, he pushed an anti-"lunch-shaming" bill that would have required all schools to provide a standard school lunch to every child.
This story has been updated.
Brock Turner contributed to this story.
