Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson to resign this year due to health issues

Republican US Senator Johnny Isakson from Georgia said Wednesday that he will be stepping down from the US Senate at the end of 2019 as he struggles with Parkinson’s disease, according to media reports.

In a letter to Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp, he said that his resignation will be effective from December 31, 2019. Isakson was supposed to serve until 2022 after which the election for Senate would be held. 

Kemp will now make an appointment to replace Isakson according to the National Conference of State Legislatures under Georgia law. A special election for the senate of Georgia is now expected to be held concurrently with the 2020 general election.

Isakson is serving as the senator of Georgia since 2005 and has previously represented Georgia's 6th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.

Isakson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, revealed the diagnosis in 2015. He was re-elected as the Senate of Georgia in 2016. In recent days, he sometimes had difficulty while walking to the Capitol and occasionally used a wheelchair or a cane.