Sen. Amy Koch to Step Down from Leadership Post, Finish Term

After one of the more meteoric rises in state politics, Sen. Amy Koch of Buffalo, who has represented District 19 since 2005, will be stepping down as the Minnesota Senate Majority Leader.

Koch called the 2011 session "challenging, exciting and exhausting," in a letter to constituents released Thursday afternoon. She said she will not be seeking re-election to the State Senate in 2012, and wanted to resign. She said the GOP, whom she led at the bargaining table in a contentious 2011 session, cannot "afford a lame duck leader in negotations next session." 

"It was important to me to provide the resident of District 19 [which includes St. Michael-Albertville] the opportunity to find a new candidate, and allow my caucus the maximum amount of time to prepare for the upcoming session," Koch said. 

The GOP helped erase a $6.2 million budget defecit, albeit via a government shutdown, last July. Koch and House Speaker Kurt Zellers were the main leaders in negotiations with Gov. Mark Dayton. 

Interestingly, Koch was asked recently in St. Michael, while visiting a St. Michael-Albertville High School government class, if she had further political aspirations. 

She said "you never know," pointing to the governor's race in 2014 and the two United State Senate seats held by Democrats in Minnesota. 

She's also rumored to be a candidate for U.S. Congress District 6, should Rep. Michele Bachmann decide to continue her presidential campaign and/or leave the House behind in 2012.