Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced Monday morning he would not run for Congress.
Instead, he said in a letter posted on Twitter he will continue to serve in the Missouri Senate.
"The question I have asked myself in the last few weeks is a simple one: Can I deliver more substantive conservative wins to the people of Missouri in the State Senate or United States Congress?" Rowden wrote. "I believe the answer to that question is for me to stay put, right here in mid-Missouri, standing up for the people of Boone and Cooper Counties as their state senator and continue serving the entire state wherever I can make an impact."
Rowden, who won a second and final term in the state Senate last year, had been openly pondering a run for the 4th Congressional District seat of U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler.
Hartzler is running for the U.S. Senate in the crowded GOP primary for a chance to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
The remaining field of candidates in the 4th district primary includes: former TV anchor Mark Alford, farmer Kalena Bruce, former Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks and state Rep. Sara Walsh.
State Sen. Rick Brattin has filed paperwork for a congressional run but hasn't made a formal announcement.
The Missouri Independent is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering state government and its impact on Missourians.