TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas state senator who gained attention for comparing Planned Parenthood to a Nazi concentration camp plans to announce his retirement from the Legislature within a few days, he confirmed to the Kansas City Star .

But his announcement was pre-empted by the man who defeated him in the August GOP primary in the 2nd Congressional District. Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, a Leavenworth Republican, said he was preparing to resign when he heard that Steve Watkins had sent a press release congratulating him on his retirement.

Fitzgerald, a senator since 2013, belongs to the conservativ...