McNulty confirms that he will retire

Rep. Michael McNulty (N.Y.) on Monday became the first Democrat this cycle to announce his retirement from Congress.

{mosads}McNulty, 60, confirmed recent reports that he will not run for reelection at a news conference in Albany, N.Y., citing a desire to return home as well as health problems.

The 10th-termer, who had polio as a child and suffers from a post-polio condition, said his physical health was a factor but not the main reason for his decision.

“The main reason for making this decision now is that I want to come home,” he said. “I do not intend to stop working, but I do want to have a job where, when Monday morning rolls around, I am not headed to the airport. In short, I want to be with my family.”

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) announced in 2005 that he would retire after this term, but he changed his mind earlier this year.

Reps. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Tom Allen (D-Maine) are both vacating their House seats, but they are pursuing Senate seats.

About a dozen Republicans have announced plans to retire, the latest being Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) late Sunday.

McNulty has carried the district with at least 60 percent of the vote throughout his two decades in Congress. But Republicans feel they have a chance, however small, to steal the seat, which voted 55-43 for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004.

Democrats being discussed include state Sen. Neil Breslin and his brother, Albany County executive Mike Breslin; Assemblyman Ron Canestrari; Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings; McNulty staffer Charlie Diamond; Tracey Brooks, a regional director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.); Paul Tonko, president of the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority; Albany Common Council President Shawn Morris; Albany County District Attorney David Soares; and Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton, the son of McNulty’s predecessor, Rep. Sam Stratton (D).

Among the Republicans being mentioned are Assemblyman James Tedisco; Assemblyman George Amedore; and Gavin Donohue, an executive at Independent Power Producers of New York.