U.S. Conservative Senator Says He Will Retire in 2003

U.S. conservative Senator Jesse Helms from North Carolina said Wednesday that he would not seek reelection for a sixth term, Xinhua reported.

"I would be 88 if I ran again in 2002 and was elected and livedto finish a sixth term, " Helms said on Raleigh television station WRAL in North Carolina. "And this, my family and I have decided, I shall not do."

Helms, who turns 80 in October, has suffered from a variety of health problems including prostate cancer over the past few years. His seat is open for election in 2002 and he will step down when his term expires in January 2003.

Helms was first elected to the Senate in 1972. He was replaced as head of the Foreign Relations Committee by Democratic Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware in June after Democrats regained control of the Senate.

The Republican senator's departure would clear the way for failed presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole to seek the Republican nomination for the seat. Former Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth, who was defeated in 1998 by Democrat John Edwards, could also run for the seat.

Republicans are defending 20 Senate seats in 2002 while Democrats are defending 14.

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