ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State Sen. Amy Koch says she is stepping down as Senate majority leader and won't seek reelection next year.
Koch made the surprise announcement Thursday in a letter to fellow Republican senators and GOP staff.
Koch didn't directly give a reason, but in the letter she called the past year "challenging, exciting and exhausting."
Koch was one of the faces of the GOP during a budget standoff with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton that led to a government shutdown.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
