Washington ? Rep. David Obey, a leading liberal Democrat but a symbol of entrenched incumbency that’s falling out of favor with discontented voters, said Wednesday he will retire at the end of his term this year.

The decision by the often gruff House veteran of four decades and powerful Appropriations Committee chairman dealt Democrats defending their majority another blow headed into a midterm election where they already confronted a significant loss of seats.

Obey, at 71 the third longest-serving current member of the House, faced a potentially bruising re-election campaign this fall for the northwestern Wisconsin seat he’s held since winning a special election in 1969.