Where did you pull that out of?
His statement is here, and other than mentioning his wife's illness, he says nothing about any "ailment."
And the way he put it back then was that his party sold out his district- who easily would have elected him again.
I assume you mean "state," and not "district." You really think he would have won running as a Republican?
It's going to be interesting in Vermont. I see speculation that socialist Bernie Sanders might go for his seat.