Rep. Bob Ney Won't Seek Re-Election

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, is shown during an interview in his Capitol Hill office, in a Dec. 8, 2003 file photo Ney, dogged by an influence peddling probe in Washington, announced Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, that he will not seek re-election. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File) (Dennis Cook - AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, under scrutiny in an influence peddling scandal involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced Monday that he was abandoning his re-election campaign.

The Republican had insisted he would not resign, even if indicted over his dealings with Abramoff. In his first primary test in a decade, Ney won 68 percent of the vote May 2 against a little-known opponent.

But in a statement released by his campaign Monday, Ney, 52, said he had decided to withdraw from his race for a seventh term.

"Ultimately this decision came down to my family. I must think of them first, and I can no longer put them through this ordeal," said Ney, who has denied wrongdoing.

He plans to serve the remainder of his term, his statement said.

Ney spokeswoman Katie Harbath said the congressman was not available for comment.

Earlier Monday, Ohio state Sen. Joy Padgett told The Associated Press that Ney called her Saturday and asked the fellow Republican to run in his place, saying defending himself has been a strain on his family.

"It's a very sad time," Padgett said of Ney's decision, first reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on its Web site.

Ney told her "just that there's only so much he can take. He said, 'I have to do this,'" Padgett said.

Padgett said she would run for Ney's seat in the 18th district, a conservative region of farms, mines Appalachian hills and Rust Belt cities in central Ohio.

Padgett faces a primary election under Ohio law that requires a primary if a candidate withdraws or dies more than 80 days before a general election. James Lee, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, said his office was consulting its lawyers to determine how to proceed. No Republican has come forward to challenge Padgett.

Ney faced a tough challenge in November from Democrat Zack Space, a law director who had made the Justice Department's investigation into Ney a focus of his campaign. Space's campaign did not return a message Monday morning.