Arizona’s Jeff Flake hasn’t ruled out 2020 run against Donald Trump

PHOENIX – Outgoing U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona might not stay retired from politics for long.

The Republican told Politico he hasn’t ruled out running against President Donald Trump in the 2020 primary election.

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

Flake hasn’t been shy about expressing his displeasure about his party’s direction under Trump.

On Wednesday, he wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post warning the GOP that it needs to believe in something “beyond the current cult of the president’s personality.”

“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,” Flake told Politico.

“You can whip up the base for a cycle or two but it wears thin. Anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.”

After Trump forced Jeff Sessions to resign as attorney general this week, Flake called for a bill to be brought to the Senate floor to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

That did not sit well with the president, who responded, of course, on Twitter.

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018

Flake chose not to run for re-election, and his successor has yet to be determined.

Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema are waging a back-and-forth battle for the seat, with hundreds of thousands of votes yet to be counted.

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