GOP state Rep. David FitzSimmons will not run in a primary after a Republican challenger defeated him at a local political convention last month.
"The decision was made by the delegates and I am going to move on in life," said FitzSimmons, R-Albertville.
Local conservatives pressed FitzSimmons to run in a primary after losing the GOP endorsement to political newcomer Eric Lucero.
Lucero and his supporters worked for months to defeat FitzSimmons after he was one of four GOP House members to vote to legalize same-sex marriage last year.
In a show of party loyalty, FitSimmons donated nearly all of his campaign war chest to other GOP groups before losing at his local political convention.
FitzSimmons, a soft spoken one-term legislator who focused on agriculture and education issues, is also working for Tom Emmer's campaign for the Sixth Congressional District seat.
