Allen West, Jason Chaffetz, opt out of Senate bids

Tea Party-backed first-term congressman Allen West, R-Fla., announced Monday he will not run for Senate in 2012 despite having been contacted by "numerous leaders of the Florida Republican Party" about the prospect of doing so.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, another Tea Party favorite who had recently threatened to challenge longtime incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, also confirmed he will not seek a Senate seat in 2012.

West said in a Monday statement he had been courted by a number of Florida party leaders - and that while he listened to them "out of respect," he could better serve Florida from his seat in the House of Representatives. He had been considering seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat of incumbent Senator, Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who will be up for re-election in 2012. A recent poll put Nelson's favorability at just 42 percent, matching his all-time low from August 2004.

"Over the last several weeks, numerous leaders of the Florida Republican Party, including current and past elected officials, have spoken to me about the race for the United States Senate," West said. "Out of respect, I was willing to listen."

But, he said, "I believe the place where I can best effect the needed change is from the People's House - the House of Representatives."

Of future goals, West says, "the only goal I have is to do my very best to represent the constituents of the Congressional District and to restore the exceptionalism of our nation."

West, a Tea Party-affiliated Republican, has served in Congress for less than one year, but he has repeatedly made headlines for a series of controversial statements: In February, he accused Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of representing the "antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established" because he supports the Council on American-Islamic Relations; and in July, he called DNC chair and fellow Florida lawmaker Debbie Wasserman-Schultz "vile," "despicable," and "not a Lady," in a scathing email.

In Utah, a spokesperson for Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, also confirmed on Monday his decision not to challenge Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for his Senate seat in 2012.