Tancredo Says He Won't Seek Re-Election

DENVER (AP) _ Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo said Monday he will not seek re-election to his Colorado seat in the House in 2008. <br/><br/>He will continue his long-shot bid for the White

Monday, October 29th 2007, 12:33 pm

By: News On 6

DENVER (AP) _ Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo said Monday he will not seek re-election to his Colorado seat in the House in 2008.

He will continue his long-shot bid for the White House.

The five-term lawmaker said illegal immigration, his core issue, now has national prominence and he doesn't need to remain in Congress to promote it.

``The issue now has a life of its own and it doesn't need one particular person to champion it,'' he said.

``I feel my job, my task, has been completed. And I am very much at peace with the idea that if I'm not elected president then I won't be running'' for another term in Congress, he said.

His decision was first reported on the Rocky Mountain News Web site.

Tancredo, 61, is a former teacher and real estate developer who served in the Colorado state legislature in the late 1970s. He was elected to the House in 1998 in a district that includes the Denver suburbs.

He has polled in the low single digits in the crowded GOP presidential race.

In a telephone interview from Iowa, where he is campaigning, Tancredo said many voters who like his stand on immigration are supporting another candidate.

``So many people come up and they are applauding and screaming and hollering (for him), but they are wearing somebody else's sticker,'' he said.

He said he wants to stay involved in public policy after he leaves the House.