Rep. Tim Griffin won't run against Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) won't challenge Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) or run for governor in 2014, he said on Friday.

"I'm not going to run for Senate and I'm not going to run for governor. I'd like to put those rumors to rest,” Griffin told a local newspaper, citing his recent appointment to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. "I'm very honored and excited about this opportunity. I look forward to the work we have to do and I want to be unequivocal that I'll be focused on Ways and Means in the House."

Griffin had been one of a handful of Arkansas Republicans thought to be interested in challenging Pryor, who faces reelection in the heavily conservative and Republican-trending state. Others who could run include Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and incoming Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).