Former Vice Presidential candidate and longtime Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman will announce Wednesday that he will not seek reelection, the New York Times is reporting. The Times learned that the 69-year-old Lieberman will not seek a fifth term through a person who was informed of the independent Senator's decision.

Several other news outlets, including Politico, The Washington Post and CBS News also reported Lieberman would not run for this seat again in 2012.

The New York Times reported:

Mr. Lieberman, whose term is up in 2012, chose to retire rather than risk being defeated, said the person, who spoke to the senator on Tuesday.

“I don’t think he wanted to go out feet first,” the person said.

Lieberman was defeated in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic primary to Ned Lamont. He ran in the general election as an Independent and won.

The race for Lieberman's seat is already shaping up. Former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, a Democrat, announced Tuesday she will run for the seat Lieberman is vacating. Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate in the 2010 Connecticut Senate election who was defeated by Democrat Richard Blumenthal, has indicated she may run again in 2012. McMahon spent $50 million in her unsuccessful senate bid.

Lieberman is the third senator to announce in recent days that he will not seek reelection. North Dakota Democratic Senator Kent Conrad and Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson announced they will not run in 2012.