Rep. Bruce Hanna won’t seek re-election

by NW Spotlight

The AP is reporting that Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) announced yesterday that he won’t be running for State Representative in 2014. Rep. Hanna was the Oregon House Co-Speaker in the 2011-2012 session. Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian noted that Rep. Hanna had been named one of Governing Magazine’s eight “Public Officials of the Year” in 2012.

In his announcement, Rep. Hanna said that he wanted to focus on his family and his Coca Cola bottling business, but he didn’t rule out running for another office.

Rep. Hanna has been rumored to be considering a run against U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. Jeff Mapes reported that Rep. Hanna traveled twice to Washington, D.C. this year, and the AP article noted that his announcement is “likely to fuel speculation that he’s planning a run for higher office.”