Former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian will return to his run for Assembly, clearing the way for Vince Polistina to capture the Republican nomination for state Senate.
The decision comes days after Guardian said he wanted to take on the state Senate seat currently held by Chris Brown.
Brown announced last week that he would not seek re-election, opening the door for some new blood.
"When I first announced my run for Senate, it was because no one else had stepped forward to succeed (Brown)," Guardian said Monday. "But now that we have a very qualified candidate in former Assemblyman Vince Polistina, I have agreed to step down for the good of the party."
Guardian spoke with other party leaders, including Polistina and former Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough, before making his announcement.
"My only interest was seeing our Republican Party win in November," he said. "We can do that by putting forth the strongest ticket possible and uniting behind that strong ticket quickly. Having a tough and costly primary fight over the Senate position would not be in the best interest of anyone, especially our party."
In response, Polistina called Guardian "the epitome of a selfless public servant."
"You don’t find many people like him in politics today," Polistina said. "He has agreed to put the Republican Party and the constituents of the 2nd Legislative District first.
"I want to thank Don for his decision and I commend him for running for the Assembly," he continued. "(Guardian's) deep knowledge of Atlantic City and the tourism industry, plus his experience as mayor and business administrator will serve him well as he campaigns for Assembly, and I'm very excited to work with him."
