Sen. Snowe explains why leaving Congress

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Washington (CNN) -- When Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine rocked the political world with her announcement that she would not seek a fourth term in the Senate, she was forthright in expressing her frustration with "an atmosphere of polarization" in politics.

But for all her transparency, it was one of Snowe's Senate colleagues who perhaps best summed up her motivation for deciding to end her decades-long tenure on Capitol Hill.

"I think she lost hope," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN.

Graham, who like Snowe had participated in bipartisan efforts to find compromise on hot-button issues, added, "You know, all of us need to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you lose that belief, why do you spend seven years of your life -- which in her case would have been her commitment -- to do something that there seems no hope."

Citing partisanship, Snowe makes surprising exit

Snowe is the latest in a string of centrist senators to announce that they will not seek re-election in the fall.

Late last year, Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2012. In a statement announcing his decision, Nelson called for "those who will follow in my footsteps to look for common ground and to work together in bipartisan ways to do what's best for the country, not just one political party."

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Snowe retirement a blow to Senate's 'sensible center'