WASHINGTON - Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who served as speaker of the House longer than any Republican in history, intends to retire next year at the end of his current term, party officials said Tuesday.
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A formal announcement is planned for Friday.
Hastert's planned retirement is likely to set off a lively scramble between the two political parties for a House seat that he has held easily since 1986.
His decision has been expected since Republicans lost control of the House last November, costing him his powerful post. He had been speaker, second in the line of presidential succession behind the vice president, for eight years.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070814/ap_on_go_co/hastertJohn Laesch is running again.
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