Add one more name to the casualty list of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives planning to retire or pursue another office: Rep. Tom Davis. 
 
Davis will retire from service in the House after seven two-year terms, adding his name to the list of about two dozen other House Republicans who have decided to hang it up after this year.
 
While Davis had already decided against running for the open Virginia Senate seat being vacated by Republican John Warner, he did make it clear that his political life was not over.

“I want to emphasize that I am not closing the door on future public service,” he said in a statement.
 
Davis represents a district just outside Washington, D.C. in northern Virginia, an area that has been growing more Democratic in recent years. In recent years the state has seen a shift to a Democratic governor and Democrats captured one of the U.S. Senate seats in 2006.
 
“This is yet another blow to National Republicans and makes the Eleventh-District a top pick-up opportunity for Democrats,” said Doug Thornell, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
 
Democrats already eyeing Davis’ seat include Gerry Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Leslie Byrne, who previously held the seat, among others. 

But they will face a well-funded Republican opponent: Keith Fimian,  a businessman who already has $650,000 in hand for his race (half of which came in the form of a personal loan.)

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed