Miller says he won't take on Dole

Rep. Brad Miller will not take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the 2008 election.

In an interview this afternoon, the Raleigh Democrat said he was excited about the possibility of taking on Sen. Elizabeth Dole, but he was afraid of what the campaign would be like.

"It would turn my life upside down, my family's life upside down and my friends' lives upside down," he said.

In addition, Miller said he felt like he was starting to get some traction on pet issues in the House. He intends to introduce bills on predatory lending and bankruptcy in the coming weeks.

"I have plenty to say grace over," he said.

With the decision, Miller ends weeks of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation among Demcorats who considered him the party’s best hope for defeating Dole.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, said last week he would decide by July 1, but the final decision came much earlier.

Miller, a three-term House member, has made his name recently working on issues affecting working families, pushing for reforms on predatory lending and going after the high payments for corporate chief executive officers.

With the Democrats’ takeover of Congress, Miller also became chairman of the investigations subcommittee of the House Science Committee.