Dunn says she won't seek return to Congress

The Associated Press

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Dunn, 61, who had been courted by President Bush to run for the U.S. Senate this fall, said she has decided to serve out her sixth House term and then retire from public life.

She cited family considerations — she's newly remarried — and a desire for one more career after politics. She endorsed no successor in her Republican-leaning 8th District in Seattle's eastern suburbs.

"It's time for me to move on, probably to the private sector," she said in an interview. "It's hard. It's hard to think of giving it up. It has been such a positive thing in my life. But at some time, I will have to. This feels like the time."

Dunn was chairwoman of the state Republican Party for a decade before winning her congressional seat in 1992. The Bellevue native was regularly re-elected by large margins, and had been a heavy favorite to win again this year. She already had amassed a warchest of about $1.5 million.

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