WASHINGTON (AP) - Six-term Georgia GOP Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, whose recruiting efforts helped Republicans win control of the House in 2010, has announced he'll retire from the House at the end of the year.
Westmoreland, 65, says "it is time to pass the torch to our next conservative voice" after 12 years on Capitol Hill.
He represents a strongly Republican district in west-central Georgia. He briefly considered a run for speaker amid last fall's GOP leadership turmoil.
His departure means more than 30 House members will have retired by the end of the current term and more announcements are possible.
Westmoreland said he made his decision after praying over the decision with his family on his Christmas break.
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