First-term state Rep. Victor Mitchell (R-Castle Rock) announced Tuesday morning that he won’t run for re-election, saying he’d rather concentrate on his business and recruiting other businesspeople to become Republican candidates.

Mitchell said in an interview that after his term is up in 2009, he'll work with Republican Party county chairmen to find successful business figures to run for office on the GOP ticket.

Mitchell said he believed this was a better way for him to get things done than remain a Republican member of the state House, where the Democrats enjoy a 40-25 majority.

"It's a challenge to be in such a small minority where it's hard to get anything done," Mitchell said. "I'm the type of individual where I want to get things done."

See the full press release here.