Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah will retire from the legislature at the end of his term this year.<br />He is the longest-serving Republican Senator currently in office.<br />The 83-year-old was first elected to the Senate in 1976, and is currently serving in his seventh term.<br />He currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.<br />According to a poll commissioned by The Salt Lake Tribune, voters overwhelmingly wanted the elderly statesman to retire, despite his popularity in Utah. <br />
