Carson's Amodei leaving GOP primary race for U.S. Senate

Carson City's Mark Amodei announced Monday he is pulling out of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

"I still think I brought the depth in key areas to ultimately have a path to beat Harry (Reid)," Amodei said.

He said the problem was money as more than a dozen GOP candidates battle for position entering the June primary. Frontrunners include Sue Lowden, former chairwoman of the state GOP; Danny Tarkanian, son of former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian; former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle; and Las Vegas businessman John Chachas.

Amodei said he has always had difficulty doing the things necessary to raise campaign cash.

"One of my strengths is not shaking people down," he said.

He said he has no intention of running in another race this cycle.

Amodei said he intends to focus on the decisions he must make as a state senator in the Legislature this week.

Amodei voted against nearly all of the tax increases and budget bills at the end of the 2009 Legislature and has maintained since then that Nevada government needs to reduce its spending rather than raise taxes.

He is termed out as a state senator at the end of this year but said he still is interested in public service.

He said he thinks ending his U.S. senate campaign is a wise move at this point.

"I think this leaves any future doors open," he said, "more open than if I stayed in and didn't do well just because I didn't have money."