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WEBVTT WITH WMUR.JEAN MACKIN JOINS US LIVE.JEAN: SHE TELLS US THAT SHELOOKED AROUND AT A FAMILYREUNION THIS SUMMER AND REALIZEDSHE WAS MISSING TOO MUCH TIMEWITH FAMILY.SHE SAYS HER DECISION WAS MADEWHEN SHE BECAME A GRANDMOTHER.>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.JEAN: CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLSHEA-PORTER SAYS -- DO NOT CALLIT RETIREMENT BUT A PAUSE.SHE HAS SERVED FOUR TERMS INCONGRESS, REPRESENTING THE FIRSTDISTRICT OFFICE AND ON SINCEFIRST ELECTED IN 2006.SHE TELLS NEWS 9 AFTER THISTERM, SHE WANTS TO SPEND MORETIME WITH HER GROWING FAMILY.>> YOU MISS SO MANY OCCASIONS.YOU PAY IT WILLINGLY TO SERVEBUT I HAVE BECOME A NEWGRANDMOTHER.IT IS TIME TO PAUSE.AND BE IN PLACE WITH FAMILY ANDFRIENDS.>> SHE PROVED TO BE REMARKABLYDURABLE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS NOT APER LETTER -- WHO IS NOT APROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN.JEAN: THIS POLITICAL ANALYSTSAYS OPEN SEATS ARE TYPICALLYEASIER TO PICK UP.>> IT DOES GIVE THE DEMOCRATSTHE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME TOFIND A CANDIDATE WHO COULDSUCCEED HER.JEAN: CAROL SHEA-PORTER SAYS SHEWILL WORK EVERY DAY OF HERFOURTH TERM.>> THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE OFNEW HAMPSHIRE.I PLAN TO WORK VERY HARD UNTILMY LAST DAY IN OFFICE.JEAN: HER TERM ENDS IN JANUARY

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Suddenly, New Hampshire's 1st District U.S. House seat is open in the 2018 election cycle -- and wide open, potentially hotly contested primary races in both political parties to become its next occupant are at hand.Four-term 1st District U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter shocked the New Hampshire political scene Friday by announcing that she will not seek another term next year and will leave the House when her term current expires in early January 2019.In an interview, she did not rule out a political comeback at some point in the future. Shea-Porter made the announcement in a five-paragraph statement to the "Good People of New Hampshire, the Greatest State in America." Her statement can be viewed below.Speaking exclusively to WMUR on Friday evening, she said she has decided to “pause and just take a little time and be in place with my family and with friends, and some travel.““We’ll see that happens after that,” Shea-Porter said. “Who knows? I’m definitely not retiring. I plan to stay very active and involved.”“There’s a lot happening in this country, and I have a strong opinion and would like to help us talk about some of the issues. So, I’m not going to go away. I’m certainly going to stay engaged, as every citizen should be.”The 64-year-old Rochester Democrat attributed her decision to the "tug of family," including the fact that she recently became a grandmother.“Around Independence Day, when there was a family reunion, there was a lot of stuff that I didn’t know, wasn’t aware of,” she said. “You miss so many occasions as you go through. It’s part of the price that you pay willingly to serve.”“And then I became a new grandmother for the first time, and that tugged also,” Shea-Porter said. “It was very hard, but I decided it was a good time to pause and just take a little time and be in place with family and with friends and some travel.”The announcement surprised even her congressional staff members, who did not learn of Shea-Porter's decision until she told them Friday morning, just a few hours before her announcement was issued. Her decision was said to be still up in the air as recently as 10 days ago.Even high-ranking state Democrats were not aware of her decision until her statement was issued.With a Republican primary campaign already in its early stages, Shea-Porter's decision sets up the strong possibility of a primary on the Democratic side as well.Former New Hampshire AFL-CIO president Mark MacKenzie told WMUR on Friday night that he will take a serious look at running. See our report here.In past cycles, Executive Councilor Chris Pappas of Manchester has been mentioned most often as a possible contender for the seat, and he strongly considered running in the 2016 election.But he told WMUR in September 2015 -- shortly after Shea-Porter announced that she would run for a fourth term -- that he would not challenge her and would support her.In a statement Friday, Pappas called Shea-Porter “an unwavering champion for all of us, especially those who need a voice in Washington,” but he gave no hint regarding his plans.An experienced Democratic activist said, “Everyone was blind-sided by this. People are still digesting that it happened.” Others who have been mentioned in political circles in connection with the seat are former New Hampshire House Speaker Terie Norelli of Portsmouth, state Sen. Donna Soucy of Manchester and former Portsmouth City Councilor Stefany Shaheen.In 2012, Democratic National Committee member Joanne Dowdell organized a campaign to run for the seat, but then withdrew from a potential primary against Shea-Porter. Dowdell told WMUR Friday afternoon that she has no immediate interest in running."It would be an honor to serve, but not at this point," Dowdell said.On the Republican side, state Sen. Andy Sanborn of Bedford and former law enforcement official Eddie Edwards of Dover have announced candidacies for 2018, while former New Hampshire GOP Vice Chairman Matt Mayberry, also of Dover, is closely eyeing getting into the race. All had been setting their sights on taking on Shea-Porter in the fall 2018 general election.Now, they will switch gears and, like everyone else, wait to see who emerges on the Democratic side.Shea-Porter in 2006 became the first woman elected to federal office in the Granite State, defeating Republican former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley, who is now the state Senate majority leader.She took an unorthodox path to the U.S. Capitol. In a time when candidates of both political parties rose through the ranks by running for lower-level offices, Shea-Porter came out of political obscurity as a grassroots activist who organized protests against the war in Iraq. She led an anti-George W. Bush group called Turn Your Back on Bush.In 2005, she was thrown out of a Bush town hall with her friend, Susan Mayer, after they removed their sweaters to reveal red T-shirts that also said, “Turn Your Back on Bush.”Her mantra as a candidate and as a member of Congress became that she would represent "the 99 percent" and the "rest of us."Often politically underestimated, Shea-Porter was re-elected in 2008, again defeating Bradley. In 2010, former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta successfully challenged her bid for a third term in the first of four battles between them.She ousted Guinta in 2012, but Guinta won in 2014. Last year, they faced off for what appears to be the final time, with Shea-Porter defeating incumbent Guinta and returning to Washington.Staunchly pro-choice and committed to veterans' issues, Shea-Porter for the most part has voted along party lines during her tenure in the House, as a supporter of Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.At the same time, her style projected an "outsider" image, which was frustrating to Republicans who tried -- sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully -- to oppose her."Carol was a grassroots activist and certainly surprised everyone when she ran," Democratic National Committeewoman Kathy Sullivan said. "And honestly, she surprised everyone when she actually won back in 2006. But she knew that she was going to win."Sullivan said that Shea-Porter, as a populist, "read the district well and drove the Republicans crazy for that reason. Here was this grassroots activist who came out of nowhere and beat Jeb Bradley and then beat Frank Guinta twice.""She did a good job and represented her constituents well. She did a lot on veterans' issues.""Carol was a breath of fresh air in New Hampshire politics and I'm sorry to see her go," Sullivan said.Shea-Porter's full statement on her decision not to seek re-election follows:“To the Good People of New Hampshire, the Greatest State in America,"Thank you so much for electing me to Congress for four terms. You gave me the great honor of representing our state and being the first woman ever to be elected to federal office from New Hampshire, and the first Democrat to represent New Hampshire’s First District in 22 years, and I have worked each day with only one thought—to serve our state and our nation. But the time has come in my life to pause and decide on a different path, so I am announcing my intention to leave the House of Representatives in January 2019, when my present term ends."This has been a very difficult decision, given how much I have enjoyed serving in the House and the fact that the 2018 election is shaping up to be like 2006, when I was first elected, an important time when Congress changed political leadership and was able to move America forward. While I certainly would enjoy being part of that, I felt the tug of family at our reunion on Independence Day, and I have continued to feel it. My family has said repeatedly that they would support any decision I made, and I am grateful to them for that and for all of their love and support through the years."I have been blessed with an amazing staff who love New Hampshire’s people as much as I do, and with a very large contingent of wonderful committed supporters who share a vision of an America with government that believes in honest and open elections, creates opportunity for all, supports local business and grows the economy while it cares for its young, its old, and its most vulnerable citizens, and believes in good stewardship of our Earth and its resources. I first won in 2006 without a single paid staffer because of their hard work. I also thank Republican and Independent voters for their confidence, and I have listened to their concerns as well. Coming from a Republican family, I know that we need to hear each other, even if we don’t always agree on policy."I have great faith in our ability to overcome challenges and to come together again, and I will continue to speak out. As Granny D, New Hampshire’s champion for campaign finance reform, said, ‘democracy is not something we have, it’s something we do.’ And as I always add, it will go away if we don’t “do” democracy by engaging on the issues and voting. I am greatly encouraged by the heightened civic engagement I am seeing."I look forward to seeing the House change political leadership again and produce legislation that helps all Americans move forward, with both parties working together, and I will do my part to make that happen. I will also continue to advocate in Congress for the people of New Hampshire until January 2019. Thank you again for the great privilege of representing you.”