Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake has decided that he’s had it with the “nastiness” of Washington. He will serve out the rest of his term in the Senate, but he won’t seek re-election in 2018.
According to the report on AZCentral:
Flake said he has not "soured on the Senate" and loves the institution, but that as a traditional, libertarian-leaning conservative Republican he is out of step with today's Trump-dominated GOP.
"This spell will pass, but not by next year," Flake said.
He had been polling behind his main primary challenger, Kelli Ward, but there are bound to be other names in the mix now.
Kelli Ward, the former state senator from Lake Havasu City who lost her primary challenge last year against Sen. John McCain, has emerged this year as the top GOP alternative to Flake, but other names have been mentioned as possibilities: Arizona State Treasurer Jeff DeWit, former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham and Arizona Board of Regents member Jay Heiler. Lesser-known Republicans Craig Brittain and Nicholas Tutora also have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and are running.
Flake was due to make a speech in the Senate to announce his intentions. Needless to say, this open seat could be a big Democratic pick-up opportunity. Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is considered the front-runner in the Democratic Senate primary.