Ariz. GOP Senator Kyl won't run in 2012

PHOENIX - Arizona Republican Jon Kyl said yesterday he won't seek re-election to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate in 2012, creating another open seat as Republicans try to take back control.

Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said at a news conference that it was time to give someone else a shot at the seat he's held since 1994.

"There is no other reason than the fact it is time," Kyl said of his decision. "It is time for me to do something else and time to give someone else a chance."

Kyl, 68, whose father was a congressman from Iowa, served 10 years in the House before being elected to the Senate. He was re-elected twice, most recently in 2006.

"I think it's a big loss," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.- AP