Tancredo To Retire From Congress

Colorado's Sixth Congressional District will now feature a mad scramble primary for the GOP, but likely little concerted effort by Dems in the mostly conservative district. Tancredo explains his decision:

"It's the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue (immigration) about which I care greatly," he said.

Tancredo said other people are now taking up leadership on the immigration issue.

On a personal note, he added, "I am certainly looking forward to a time when at least a week can go by when I don't have to get on an airplane."

Tancredo hinted earlier this summer that another congressional race might not be in the offing if he lacked the "fire" to go on:

Until now, Tancredo has tried to put off any talk of what he would do if his White House bid fell flat. But over the summer, he began hinting that he had his eyes on a 2010 contest against Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat he sees as his polar opposite on the immigration issue.

He has often complained about the rigors of the presidential campaign trail, which has required him to spend more than 50 days in Iowa, and dozens more in New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states this year.

To run for congressional re-election, "I have to have the fire in the belly, and this takes a lot of effort, what I'm doing here," Tancredo said in a July interview in Iowa.

"I'm telling you, it just wears on you just generally, physically, everything," he said. "I just don't know whether I'll have the strength, the fire burning still."

Tancredo will likely gauge a possible 2010 run against incumbent Ken Salazar against Bob Schaffer's performance next year against Mark Udall. If the state looks like it is tilting back in the GOP's favor, then a Tancredo run--or the hint of one--will begin as soon as his presidential bid concludes and the next election cycle is completed. Given the lack of depth of the GOP's bench for statewide races, a Tancredo Senate bid doesn't seem all that farfetched.