Politics

Nick Gillespie | From the January 2026 issue

In 2017, Sen. Jeff Flake (R–Ariz.) announced he wouldn't seek reelection. He told his colleagues that "we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal."

Eight years later, Flake reflects on why he walked away. In this conversation with
Reason's Nick Gillespie, just before the government shutdown in September 2025, he talked about the GOP's turn toward grievance politics, the abandonment of free markets and immigration reform, and waiting for the Trump fever to break.

Q: One of the most memorable speeches from the floor of the Senate came from you
in October 2017. You announced you were not running........

© Reason.com