'Big deal': Internet stunned by Senate Republican's surprise exit

The internet lit up Friday after Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced she would not seek reelection next year, abruptly opening up a rare Senate seat in ruby-red Wyoming and ending her tenure after a single term.

Lummis revealed her decision shortly after the Senate adjourned for the holiday break, saying in a statement that she did not feel she had another six-year term in her, The Hill reported. The timing and sudden nature of the announcement caught many political observers off guard and immediately sparked online speculation about who might jump into the race.

“Lummis not running!” Politico columnist Jonathan Martin wrote on X. “Will set up a donnybrook of a primary in Wyo.”

Steven Dennis, a reporter for Bloomberg, told his followers the announcement was “a big deal in the Senate, where Lummis has been the #1 supporter of crypto. She's spoken often to me about the toll endless negotiations have taken this year.”

“This is the type of open senate seat that could tempt a rich carpetbagger or two,” former NBC News anchor Chuck Todd wrote in a social media post.

Aaron Fritschner, a top staffer for Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), had his own speculations for what is next in store for the retiring Republican senator.

“Lummis is retiring,” he wrote on X. “Guessing her next act will be crypto related and more, uh, remunerative.”

“I vaguely remember that former Vice President Richard Cheney's daughter lives there,” attorney and podcaster Ben Yellen wrote in a post on X. “Maybe she might run.”

“Harriet Hageman watch starts now,” NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman told his X followers about MAGA Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY).