Arkansas Congressman Marion Berry to Retire

Fox has learned that six-term Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) will retire at the end of this term.

Berry is the latest in a long list of both House Democrats and Republicans who have decided to step aside at the end of this Congress. But Berry's retirement could prove to be particularly vexing for Democrats.

Just last week, Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR) announced his retirement. And Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) is expected to face one of the toughest re-election campaigns for any Senate Democrat in the country. This shows a vulnerability for Democrats in the south. And a special weakness in Arkansas, where Snyder and Berry may have seen troubled waters ahead statewide with Lincoln at the top of the ballot.

Berry makes his decision even after he confided to FOX last month that he intended to stand for re-election.

After his election in 1996, Berry's name often drew snickers in Washington. Marion Barry is former mayor and longtime embattled Washington, DC city council member, best-known for his 1990 arrest on drug charges in a Washington hotel. The arrest was captured on videotape.