Rep. Coffman Won’t Try to Unseat Sen. Bennet

AP

Republican Rep. Mike Coffman is not going to challenge incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in next year's election.

Coffman said in a statement on Monday that he will instead run for re-election in his congressional seat in Denver's southeastern suburbs. National Republicans had pressured Coffman to run, thinking he was their best shot to unseat Bennet, a Democrat.

But Coffman said he wanted to stay in his seat and focus on getting a Veterans Administration hospital built in his district. Coffman is a veteran who has served in both Iraq wars.

He will still face a tough race in 2016. Coffman's district is almost evenly divided between Democrats, Republicans and independents. That makes him a regular top target of Democrats in congressional elections.