Ex-Indiana Gov. Daniels won’t seek state’s open Senate seat

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels introduced Tuesday that he wouldn’t search that state’s open U.S. Senate seat subsequent yr, ending weeks of hypothesis about whether or not the longtime Republican determine would enter a probably vicious GOP major struggle with a combative defender of former President Donald Trump.

The choice by the 73-year-old Daniels comes after U.S. Rep. Jim Banks introduced Jan. 17 for the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Mike Braun as he makes a 2024 run for governor.

“With full credit score and respect for the establishment and people serving in it, I conclude that it’s simply not the job for me, not the city for me, and never the life I wish to dwell at this level,” Daniels stated in a press release launched by a longtime adviser.

Supporters of Banks had already criticized Daniels as insufficiently conservative and an “outdated guard Republican,” signaling a line of assault for a nasty intraparty race within the GOP-dominated state.

Daniels, as soon as thought-about a presidential contender with a conservative fiscal status, ended eight years as governor in early 2013 with excessive approval rankings. He stayed within the public eye of the state for the previous decade because the high-profile president of Purdue College earlier than stepping down on the finish of December.

The choice by Daniels leaves Banks as the one declared candidate some 15 months forward of Indiana’s 2024 major.