Updated at 12:46 p.m.

She's running. Democratic Lt. Gov. Molly Gray on Monday announced her candidacy for Vermont's lone U.S. House seat, seeking a congressional perch just one year after she won her first-ever election.

When U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) finishes his final term at the beginning of 2023, he’ll have a much smaller job ahead of him: deciding what to do with the unspent money in his campaign coffers.

Leahy’s campaign account is holding a little over $2 million, according to the Federal Election Commission, which maintains detailed reports about candidates’ donations and expenditures.

The FEC has strict rules about how candidates and campaigns can spend donations, both during campaigns and after. The money can be used for some of the costs of winding down the campaign committee, for charitable contributions, and for contributions to other federal, state, and local political candidates and committees.

Updated at 3:30 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will run for the Senate seat left open by the upcoming retirement of Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt).

In a brief statement, the congressman focused on the battle he’ll wage for a progressive agenda. “We are at a pivotal moment,” Welch said in the statement. “Vermont families are struggling through multiple crises: a global pandemic, the consequences of climate change, and a racial reckoning generations in the making.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday that he will not seek reelection next year, ending months of speculation and creating a rare opening in a Vermont congressional seat.

At an event at the Vermont Statehouse, Leahy, 81, said he plans to retire from the U.S. Senate, where he is the fifth-longest serving senator in the chamber's history. He was first elected in 1974, and is currently in his eighth term.

“It is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state,” he said, appearing emotional as he made the announcement. “It’s time to come home.”

Leahy spoke to a packed room of staff, friends and media — the same room where he launched his first Senate campaign. The senior senator spoke from prepared remarks for nearly 20 minutes, recounting what he considered his proudest achievements in Congress. His wife, Marcelle, who began chemotherapy treatments in May for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, was by his side.

“While I’ll continue to serve Vermont, Marcelle and I have reached the conclusion that it is time to put down the gavel,” he said, adding that representing Vermont has been his “greatest honor.”

Leahy did not elaborate on the reason for his retirement, and did not immediately take questions. He left to return to Washington, D.C., to attend a presidential signing ceremony for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Leahy chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and serves as president pro tempore, giving him outsized influence despite hailing from one of the country's smallest states. He presided over former president Donald Trump's impeachment trial earlier this year.