2 full-time members of the Georgia House plan to leave - 120 characters

Two veteran members of the Georgia House of Representatives announced Friday that they will not run for election this year. Lawmakers David Knight, of the Republican Party, and Gregg Kinnard, of the Democratic Party, addressed their colleagues from the House floor on the final day of Legislative Candidate Qualification Week.

Knight already has 20 years in the House and is chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. On the House floor, Knight said the recent death of House Rules Committee Chairman Richard Smith made him realize it was time to leave office and devote more time to his wife and young son. Knight praised Democrats and Republicans in the House for arguing about issues in civil ways, even when they disagree with each other.

Kennard, who was elected to the House in 2018, already said late last year that he would not seek a fourth term after Republicans changed the House map during a special redistricting session. The new map placed Kennard in the same district as Democratic Minority Leader Sam Park, and Kennard decided not to run against Park in the Democratic primary in May.