Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) will retire at the end of her current term to pursue other professional opportunities, her Congressional office spokeswoman Joan Evans confirmed Thursday afternoon.

“At some point in everybody’s life you have to decide, how much longer do I want to do this?” Hooley told The Oregonian newspaper, which broke the news of her retirement earlier this afternoon. “It’s time to move on.”

Hooley’s announcement comes after a rash of recent Republican departures, and gives House Republicans some rare good news.

Oregon’s 5th district has proved competitive in the past, with both Democratic and Republican statewide candidates winning the district in recent elections. Republicans are sure to make a play for it now, with 2006 GOP nominee Mike Erickson, a wealthy businessman who took 43 percent of the vote against Hooley, making a second run this year.

With the 68-year-old Congresswoman choosing not to seek a seventh term, Democrats might look to Iraq War veteran Paul Evans and Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader.

— David M. Drucker