Sen. Averitt cites health, drops re-election bid

WACO, TX The 55-year-old legislator from Waco, in a statement Thursday, said he has been advised to put his health above all else and will not serve another term. Averitt says he has diabetes and high blood pressure.

A spokesman for Averitt on Friday did not immediately return a call for comment from The Associated Press.

The tax consultant served nearly a decade in the Texas House before being elected to the Texas Senate in April 2002. Averitt chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

Democrats failed to field a candidate against Averitt. He was being challenged, in the March 2 GOP primary, by Darren Yancy of Burleson.

District 22 includes McLennan, Bosque, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Navarro and Somervell counties.