Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake told reporters on Capitol Hill that he is not running for re-election because he knows there is no way he could win in a party controlled by President Donald Trump.
Flake told reporters he did not think he would win Tuesday’s Arizona primary if he ran, saying he would lose because “this is the president’s party much to my consternation” adding he thinks that Trump could be the “long term detriment to the party.”
Jeff Flake on if he thinks he still wouldn’t be able to win AZ primary: “Not a chance today. That won’t always be the case, but it is today. This is the president’s party much to my consternation and I think the long term detriment to the party. I hope that’s not always the case”
— Jason Donner (@jason_donner) August 28, 2018
Flake also predicted Arizona Republican Rep. Martha McSally would win Tuesday’s primary, saying she is the “only shot that obviously republicans have to hold onto the seat.”
Jeff Flake on AZ Primary: “I think McSally will win. I hope she does. That’s the only shot that obviously republicans have to hold onto the seat, but it’s even difficult then. This is gonna be a hard fought general election…”
— Jason Donner (@jason_donner) August 28, 2018
Flake continued on AZ primary: “…and I think long term if we don’t appeal to a broader electorate and quit trying to drill down harder on the base and just you know give into the politics of anger and resentment, we’re gonna lose big time long term.”
— Jason Donner (@jason_donner) August 28, 2018
Flake, who did not support Trump throughout his 2016 presidential campaign and has continued to disagree with the president on just about every issue, announced in October 2017 that he is not willing to take the path necessary to winning a Republican nomination. (RELATED: Jeff Flakes! Will Not Seek Re-Election)
“Here’s the bottom line: The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take,” Flake told The Arizona Republic in a telephone interview. “It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”
Trump has continued to criticize Flake throughout his presidency, saying in one tweet, that Flake has set record low polling numbers in Arizona and was “therefore humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight, also adding that he thought the Arizona Sen. was a “Flake.”
The comments come one week after Flake returned back to Washington, D.C., from a three-week trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana, while the Senate was in session.
Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.