By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH (AP) ó Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole says she has no plans to retire from working as a public servant when she leaves the Senate early next year.
Dole said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that she hasnít yet considered her future. She said she has instead focused the last few days on finding new jobs for her staff and reconnecting with family and friends.
Doleís 40-year career in Washington led her into the inner circles of presidents, to the top of two cabinet agencies and a tenure as chief of the American Red Cross.
But her latest duty ó as a U.S. senator from the state where she was raised ó ended abruptly on Tuesday when she was ousted from Congress by Democrat Kay Hagan.