Report: Rep. Herger won't seek reelection

Rep. Wally Herger, a California Republican who has served in the House for 24 years, will not seek reelection, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.

Herger was a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Health, where he waged a vocal campaign against President Obama's healthcare legislation. Herger was influential in opposing the proposed high-speed rail project spanning California, arguing it was too expensive.

But weak fundraising prowess left Herger on the outside of the GOP leadership, passed up for chairman of Ways and Means in favor of Michigan Rep. Dave Camp in 2008.

Still, Herger was expected to have an easy reelection campaign in 2008 if he decided to run. As recently as August, he dismissed suggestions he might retire.

"I’ve been in ... elected office for a while now, and there’s been an active rumor that I’ve been retiring for at least 15 years,” Herger told the Record Searchlight. But the California Republican said he was "intrigued and excited" by his job and the "big fight going on in Washington."

Herger is expected to announce his support for state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, according to the Flash Report, a California political blog. Herger endorsed LaMalfa for his state Senate race in 2010.

Another long-serving California Republican, Rep. Elton Gallegly, announced Saturday he would not seek reelection and would retire after 25 years in Congress.

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