Menem ran for Governor of La Rioja in August 2007, but was defeated. He finished in third place with about 22% of the vote."Former Argentine President Menem loses gubernatorial race", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 20 August 2007 This was viewed as a catastrophic defeat, signaling the end of his political dominance in La Rioja. It was the first time in 30 years that Menem had lost an election. Following this defeat in his home province, he withdrew his candidacy for president. At the end of 2009 he announced that he intended to run for the presidency again in the 2011 elections. but ran for a new term as a senator instead. In 2019, he eventually sat in the Frente de Todos' Senatebench until his death in 2021.
