Sue Lowden announced Wednesday night that she was stepping down from her post as chairwoman of the Nevada Republican party as she explores a challenge to Sen. Harry Reid.

Lowden told party leaders on a regularly-scheduled conference call that she would be departing Sept. 30. “The reason for my decision is that I am currently testing the waters on the possibility of running for U.S. Senate,” Lowden said in a release. “Because we already have some announced Republican candidates for the 2010 Senate campaign, I believe it is important to remove any perceptions of possible conflicts with my duties as Chairman.”

Lowden didn’t give any indication of which way she was leaning on the Senate race, but did say she plans “to stay as engaged as ever, fighting for the issues that affect us all.”