Colorado's Allard Won't Run For Re-Election

DENVER — Senator Allard, a Republican of Colorado, said yesterday that he will not run for re-election in 2008 but will honor a 1996 pledge to serve only two terms.

"Today, I'm announcing that I will honor my term limits pledge to the people of Colorado," he said.

The decision sets up a wide-open race. Mr. Allard's seat was once considered safe for the GOP, but Colorado voters have shown a penchant lately for replacing Republicans with Democrats.

Democrats see the race as a chance to pick up another vote in Congress after wresting two House seats and a Senate seat from Republicans the past two years. Republicans hope to stanch a long series of losses, including both houses of the state legislature and the governor's office.