AMHERST - Rep. Thomas Reynolds, once a powerful member of the House Republican majority, said Thursday he will retire from Congress at year's end to spend more time with his family.

At a conference in his Buffalo-area district, he said he was confident he could have won re-election, but “this is the right time to close out this chapter.”

Reynolds, 57, was once considered a potential Speaker of the House, but his political fortunes fell with those of the national GOP. He chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee for two elections, guiding his party to strong wins in 2004 but in 2006 losing control of the House, which the GOP held for a dozen years.

“I have relished the opportunity to shape public policy as much, even more, than winning political campaigns,” he told supporters.

Reynolds raised hundreds of millions of dollars for his party, but the committee has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after revelations that hundreds of thousands of dollars are missing, sparking an investigation into a former treasurer for the group.

“I would never walk away from a fight,” he said when asked whether that investigation or his role in the Mark Foley congressional page scandal had influenced his plans.