House Republican officials won’t be landing their top candidate to oppose Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) in the state’s southwestern 9th district.

Terry Kilgore (R), a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, told The Washington Post Thursday that family considerations and his seniority in Richmond influenced his decision.

“I’m doing more for southwest Virginia in Richmond than I ever could in Congress,” said Kilgore, who was first elected in 1993 to the Republican-controlled state House. Re-elected in November 2009, Kilgore would not have had to surrender his seat to challenger Boucher.