Rep. Pryce decides not to seek 9th term

This means only one of the top four House Republicans will remain.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Deborah Pryce is putting her daughter first in her decision to leave Congress when her eighth term ends next year.

But coming in second is the “ugliness” of the 2006 election, when the Republican squeaked by her opponent by just over 1,000 votes in a campaign where bombs were thrown by political parties and outside groups alike.

Pryce, once the most powerful Republican woman in the House, said at a news conference Thursday that she would not seek a ninth term.

Pryce, 56, said she based her decision on the death of her 9-year-old daughter Caroline — who died in 1999 from a rare form of cancer — and her desire to spend time with her parents and daughter Mia, a 5-year-old who starts kindergarten next week.

“Some of you may remember my daughter Caroline who passed away. I missed a lot of her growing up, and I don’t want that to happen again,” Pryce said, controlling her emotions. “This is a decision I made because I’m a single mother, with a little girl who needs me at home. The time is such that I just have to be there with her.”

Tight victory

She said the tight 2006 re-election victory toughened her and she believes she could have won again. However, the nasty campaigns of both sides and outside groups clearly took their toll.

“It was close, but we won. It was the perfect storm for Democrats last year. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that we could have won again.

“I think the ugliness of the election may have played a part in it, but certainly not the closeness of it,” Pryce said of her decision.

Republicans could have trouble finding a top-flight candidate for an open seat in the competitive Columbus-based district. Two names mentioned have been former Attorney General Jim Petro and state Sen. Steve Stivers.

Petro, now a lawyer in private practice, said Thursday that he had been approached about running for the nomination by House GOP leader John Boehner and community and GOP leaders he would not identify. He said he would decide whether to get back into politics within two weeks.

“I’m giving those thoughts a lot of consideration now,” Petro said.

Stivers said Wednesday he had no interest in the job.

Democrats are backing Mary Jo Kilroy, a Franklin County commissioner who handed Pryce the toughest race of her congressional career during the 2006 election. Kilroy lost by 1,062 votes out of 220,000 cast, and a re-count delayed the outcome for weeks. Fellow Commissioner Paula Brooks decided not to challenge Kilroy for the House seat earlier this year.

2008 race

Next year’s race already had attracted the attention of outside groups, and phone calls targeting Pryce, mainly for her support of President Bush and the Iraq War, hardly took a breather after last November’s election.

Pryce rose to the No. 4 position in the GOP before it lost control in the 2006 election. Her decision means three of the four top House Republicans from the party’s last majority will be absent from the next election.

Only Roy Blunt of Missouri, the GOP whip, will seek election next year. Former Speaker Dennis Hastert planned to announce Friday that he would not seek re-election next year, party officials said, and Rep. Ray LaHood said in May that he was retiring after next year. Both are from Illinois. Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, stepped down last year.