GOP state senator running for Georgia congressional seat

ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia state senator plans to run for Congress, seeking to replace retiring Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland.

Sen. Mike Crane, a Republican from Newnan, announced his run for office Wednesday at the state Capitol in Atlanta. Crane says he wants to end ``vending machine politics,'' and criticizes some state and federal lawmakers for basing their votes on donors' positions.

The district in west-central Georgia is considered solidly Republican.

Westmoreland, 65, said this month that he will retire at the end of the year after six terms in office.

Crane, a general contractor, owns a construction business. He was elected to the state Senate in a 2011 special election. He and his wife Tracey have two children.