Massachusetts Rep. Tsongas won't seek re-election

WASHINGTON (AP) - Longtime Democratic Rep. Niki Tsongas (SAWN'-guhs) of Massachusetts says she won't seek re-election.

The congresswoman - in a statement Wednesday - is hailing the gains of elected women in the state, from Sen. Elizabeth Warren to the 50 percent of the female state legislators in her northern Massachusetts district.

Tsongas - a member of the House Armed Services and Natural Resources committees - says it's been an honor serving since her 2007 election.

On Armed Services, Tsongas was at the forefront in fight against sexual assault in the military.

She says she was guided by the "extraordinary role model" in her late husband, Paul Tsongas. He was the Democratic senator from Massachusetts who made an unsuccessful bid for president in 1992. He died of cancer in 1997 at age 55.