Kansas Rep. Bob Montgomery, an Olathe Republican who was elected last month to a new House seat, announced this week that he would resign after he’s sworn in.

Montgomery said financial and home concerns had caused him to re-evaluate his House service. He made the announcement in front of the Kansas Republican House caucus Tuesday as it selected a new House speaker.

A former Olathe city councilman who has served two years in the Kansas House, Montgomery walloped his Republican primary opponent, city planner Elliot Lahn, with 82 percent of the vote for the newly configured 15th District. He was unopposed in the November election.

Now, Republican party leaders will have to pick his replacement.

Montgomery won’t resign until he’s sworn in because the 15th District is new. He is now serving in the 26th district, which was redrawn during redistricting earlier this year.

Montgomery, 63, was elected last year by GOP committee members to replace state Rep. Rob Olson, who went on to fill a state Senate vacancy. Montgomery had served for 15 years as Olathe city councilman-at-large, resigning recently to focus on the statehouse.

He did not want to talk about his family reasons for leaving. He also said his work as a real estate broker had been suffering with the downturn in the economy while spending so much time on legislative work.

He said he ran for re-election hoping that could hold things together enough to remain in the Legislature.

“I started out with a positive attitude that I could try and make it work and bring the business back around and that just didn’t happen,” he said. “Every intent was to try and be there.”