Del Marsh won't seek U.S. Senate seat

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said Tuesday he will not run for U.S. Senate next year, citing both family needs and his preference for working in Montgomery. 

“I like getting things done,” Marsh said after a meeting of the Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee on Tuesday. “I think on the state side, we’re going to have a productive session. I’m used to getting things done. I just think the climate in Washington right now is not conducive to getting things done, and I would not enjoy that.”

Marsh first told The Anniston Star, his hometown newspaper, about his decision on Monday.

Marsh’s decision takes a major state Republican figure out of the equation in next year's race, where Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones will seek re-election. Marsh has deep ties with the state’s business community and would likely have been a strong fundraiser. Speculation about his plans increased after he pushed legislation last month to repeal Common Core and allow donations to a nonprofit group seeking to build a wall with Mexico, two items of interest to Republican primary voters. 

More:Common Core, wall bills fuel speculation of Marsh Senate run

Polls, however, showed that the Senate leader was unknown to most Alabamians. A recent Mason-Dixon poll found 57 percent of Republican voters surveyed did not recognize Marsh’s name. But Marsh said neither polling numbers nor fundraising played a role in his decision. 

“We looked at that and we were prepared to raise money,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s just something in my heart. I didn’t want to leave my family and my colleagues here with getting good work done, and go to an area I did not think would be productive.”

Marsh considered running for U.S. Senate in 2017 but ran into opposition from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who backed then-Sen. Luther Strange and discouraged vendors from working with Marsh, who ultimately decided not to run. Strange lost the Republican nomination to former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who lost the election to Jones.

Marsh said Tuesday that was not a factor this year, and he did not rule out future runs for federal office.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, and former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville are seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Moore has said he is considering getting in the race.