Jeff Flake Not Ruling Out 2020 GOP Primary Challenge: 'Somebody Needs to Run'

Jeff Flake is not ruling out a GOP primary challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020, telling Politico and The Hill Friday that "somebody needs to run."

The retiring senator from Arizona said he hasn't yet decided whether that "somebody" will be him.

“I’ve not ruled it out. I’ve not ruled it in. Just, somebody needs to run on the Republican side,” Flake told the outlets on Friday.

“I hope somebody does [run], just to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative and what it means to be decent. We’ve got to bring that back. You can whip up the base for a cycle or two but it wears thin. Anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.”

Flake, often at odds with Trump, drew the president's ire just Friday on Twitter for his efforts to push through legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

“Jeff Flake(y) doesn’t want to protect the Non-Senate confirmed Special Counsel, he wants to protect his future after being unelectable in Arizona for the ‘crime’ of doing a terrible job! A weak and ineffective guy!” Trump wrote.

There's one person who does back him, though — Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware.

“He’s earned credibility by making tough stands against a president who can be sharply critical of anyone who questions him,” Coons told Politico of Flake. “He’s a really conservative guy . . . I don’t know what the next six months could bring.”