Published Monday, November 30, 2009 6:05 AM

Gattis out; says Ogden will run

State Rep. Dan Gattis announced late Sunday that he will drop out of the race to represent District 5 in the Texas Senate and said that incumbent Steve Ogden will seek re-election.

The Republican from Georgetown, who represents Williamson and Milam counties, announced his candidacy for the Senate seat in September after Ogden made an announcement that he would not run again in 2010.

But Gattis recently changed his mind, saying in a press release that he realized he didn't want to spend time away from his family. His term is up in 2011 and he will not seek re-election.

"Concurrently with this realization, Sen. Ogden and I began discussing the very real financial and budget challenges facing our great state and his interest in returning to the senate to address these problems should I make the decision to step aside in order to focus on family commitments," he said. "It is Senator Ogden's willingness to return to the senate that gives me peace of mind to withdraw from the race at this time."

Ogden has made no public comments on the race since the announcement. His Web site Sunday night still had his September announcement that he wouldn't seek re-election.

The filing period for the race begins Thursday. The primary is in March and the general election is in November.

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