Reports: Rep. Steve LaTourette Not Running For Re-Election

According to several media outlets, U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (OH-14) has decided against running for a 10th term in the U.S. House.

The Associated Press quoted Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett as saying that LaTourette told him that he will not be a candidate in November.

LaTourette's office has been mum on the matter, only saying that he will make "a major announcement" at 10 a.m. Tuesday at his district office in Painesville.

The Columbus Dispatch, the first to report the story, cited an unnamed source who told the newspaper LaTourette "is leaving because of frustration with congressional gridlock."

For now, LaTourette is still on the ballot for this November. He is that includes Democratic candidate Dale Virgil Blanchard, Elaine Mastromatteo of the Green Party and Libertarian David Macko.

If LaTourette does decide not to run for re-election, what happens next depends on the timing of LaTourette's official withdrawal.

If he withdraws from the race before Aug. 8, then a special primary will be held to elect his replacement on the ballot. However, if he waits until after the cutoff date, then the GOP can avoid a special primary and simply pick a replacement.

The Columbus Dispatch lists Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce, State Rep. Ron Young of Leroy Township, former state Rep. Matt Dolan of Novelty and Geauga County Juvenile Judge Timothy J. Grendell as possible replacements.

The 14th district includes the entirety of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties and parts of Cuyahoga, Portage, Summit and Trumbull counties.

LaTourette, 58, was the Lake County prosecutor before he defeated Democratic Rep. Eric Fingerhut in 1994 to join the U.S. House of Representatives. He has been reelected eight times since then.

LaTourette is on the House Appropriations Committee, which directs federal spending. However, the power of that particular committee has been limited by a recent ban on congressional earmarks, The Plain Dealer noted.