Vos won’t seek Ryan’s House seat.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Friday he won’t seek the congressional seat being vacated by House Speaker Paul Ryan at the end of the year.
Vos (R-Rochester) told WISN-AM (1130) conservative radio host Jay Weber that he was “more of a Wisconsin guy” and that he would not run for the First Congressional District seat.
Later Friday, state Sen. Dave Craig (R-Big Bend) said he won’t run for the seat. “After much prayerful consideration the timing to run for Congress is not right for our young family,” Craig said in a tweet.
The moves made University of Wisconsin System regent Bryan Steil, a former Ryan staffer, the favorite for the seat among Republicans. State Rep. Samantha Kerkman of Salem is also considering a GOP run.
Ryan announced this week that he would not seek re-election to Congress after serving two decades in the House. The Janesville Republican was elected speaker in 2015.
Vos has long been seen as a potential successor to Ryan but had privately downplayed that possibility in recent months. In a statement, Vos said he appreciated people urging him to run for Congress but felt he could do more good “continuing to push state-based conservative reforms.”
“That’s why I will seek re-election in the state Legislature and continue to focus on maintaining the strong, historic majority in the Wisconsin state Assembly,” he said.
Vos was the second prominent Wisconsin Republican in as many days to decline running for the seat. Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Thursday he would not run.
This week, Vos also defended his recent free trip to London, which was sponsored by the conservative group GOPAC and included lobbyists from a title loan company with locations in Wisconsin. Vos, a supporter of looser title loan regulations, said he complied with state ethics laws on the trip, which was first reported on by the Journal Sentinel.
The two announced Democratic candidates in the race are ironworker Randy Bryce and Cathy Myers, a Janesville School Board member.