DES MOINES (AP) — Iowa Congressman Tom Latham, who had been considered the establishment Republican choice for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin, announced Wednesday that he won’t seek the job.

Latham, a 10-term Republican from Clive, said in a statement that he could not “in good conscience launch a two-year statewide campaign that will detract from the commitment” to the new district he was elected to in November.

He faced considerable pressure to run from throughout the Iowa Republican establishment, including Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. Latham, a soft-spoken former businessman, had represented more than half of Iowa’s counties during nearly 20 years in Congress and was considered a good fundraising match for Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley.