District 21A representative and candidate for Minnesota governor Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, won't seek an eighth term in the House.
Seifert made his announcement in a Thursday morning news conference in Marshall and continued with at least a second news conference in St. Paul.
"The decision was made a long time ago not to run, regardless of how the governor's race goes and before Governor Tim Pawlenty announced he was not seeking re-election," Seifert said.
Seifert is considered a frontrunner in the Republican Party and said Thursday he is confident in his chances in the governor's race.
Seifert said the district and voters deserved to know his plans so that candidates could step forward and have time to organize a campaign.
"I will not mention specific names...," Seifert said of possible candidates for the District 21A position. "We've got people interested and some fantastic folks..."
While Seifert won each of his seven elections handily, he stressed "it's going to have to be earned."