Rising-star conservative Rep. Matt Salmon has made it official: He won't challenge Arizona's senior Sen. John McCain in the next GOP primary.
The Arizona Republic reports Salmon told McCain about his decision during a private meeting Tuesday.
"I said, 'I'm not going to run against you. I've done some polling and I think I could do very well, but it would be a bloody campaign, and whoever comes limping out with only 60 days left to face [Democratic Rep.] Ann Kirkpatrick could give her the race,' either way, if he wins or I win," Salmon tells
The Hill.
"He was very pleasant about everything," Salmon said of McCain.
In a statement to the Arizona Republic, the 79-year-old McCain — who's seeking his sixth six-year term in the Senate — called Salmon "a friend and valued member of Arizona's Congressional delegation."
Salmon had been pressed to run against McCain by tea party-aligned organizations like Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, the Senate Conservatives Fund and Citizens United, the Arizona Republic notes.
But according to The Hill, Salmon has had increasing influence in the House, and as one of nine co-founders of the House Freedom Caucus, was part of the conservative bloc that pressured powerful Speaker John Boehner to resign last week.
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