Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson to Retire

(Newsroom America) -- Two-term U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce Tuesday that he is retiring from office, dealing a serious blow to the Democratic majority's chances of holding onto the chamber in November.

Nelson is expected to make the formal announcement at a press conference back home Tuesday, Politico reported on its Web site.

Nelson's seat was considered one of the most vulnerable to Democrats, analysts said. Republican-affiliated groups have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising criticizing Nelson. Those TV ads were countered by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spots; the DSCC spent some $1 million trying to bolster Nelson's image.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., were quietly pressuring Nelson to remain in office, the report said. The Nebraska Democrat had fallen in popularity in recent years but was beginning to make somewhat of a comeback in the polls.

Nelson, a native Nebraskan and former insurance industry executive, built a reputation in the Senate as a moderate. He voted to support George W. Bush's tax cuts in 2001 but also voted for the $787 billion stimulus and President Obama's signature healthcare legislation.

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