Rep. Mike McNulty (D) made it official Monday: He plans to retire at the end of his term.

“I am coming home to the people and the community I love so much,” McNulty said during a midday appearance at a hotel in downtown Albany.

McNulty, 60, who suffers from post-polio syndrome, said he wanted to exit Capitol Hill before his health becomes a major obstacle to his ability to serve in Congress. But he added that he hopes to continue serving the community. McNulty has been an elected official in the capital region since 1970.

McNulty’s retirement announcement is setting off a scramble among possible successors — many of whom stood by his side during his appearance at the hotel Monday.

Among the leading potential contenders, all of whom are Democrats: state Sen. Neil Breslin, state Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton, whose father, the late Rep. Sam Stratton (D), was McNulty’s predecessor.

Republicans are not expected to figure heavily in the discussion over succession in the Democrat-heavy Albany-area district. One potential GOP contender, Assemblyman James Tedisco, told the Albany Times Union Monday, “I haven’t had time to think about thinking about it.”

— Josh Kurtz