U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood will not seek re-election when his term expires in January 2009.
He will announce his retirement Friday at a press conference at his campaign headquarters, his chief of staff Tim Butler said today.
LaHood did not return multiple phone calls for comment.
The decision comes just more than a month after the long-time Republican representative said he would seek an eighth term in Congress and was not going to apply for the Bradley University presidential post. He said in July he would make an official re-election announcement when he begins circulating petitions for candidacy in August.
That only leaves this guy as an announced candidate. (For what it's worth I guess he's a Republican.)
"[Congressional Democrats have] had a pretty strong quarter," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), who praised [the legislation expanding SCHIP] as "creative" and suggested the homeland security bill would pass overwhelmingly. "The first quarter was not so good, and that's why they're not looking so good in the polls, but this quarter is looking very good for them. They can send their members home crowing about their accomplishments, and they've done it in a bipartisan way, which is exactly what they promised to do," LaHood said.
