Topeka ? State Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-Ozawkie, said Saturday he will probably not run for Congress during the 2008 election cycle.

“I’ve got plenty to do here in Kansas,” Tafanelli said.

Recently, Tafanelli was appointed chairman of a special committee that will oversee the state’s response and assistance to communities hit hard by disaster, including the tornado in Greensburg and flooding in southeastern Kansas.

Earlier this year, Tafanelli, also a colonel in the Kansas National Guard who served in Iraq, said he was thinking about running for the GOP nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.

Two well-funded candidates have already entered the Republican fray: State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins and former U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, who lost the district seat in 2006 to Democrat Nancy Boyda.

Tafanelli said he hoped Republicans will unite behind whoever wins the primary in August 2008.