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With a plum assignment on Ways and Means, Tim Griffin will now settle in to become a House lifer; he already announced he won't be running for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (against Democrat Mark Pryor), and I doubt that he'll ever run for higher office. On the plus side, his spot on Ways and Means will make it all the more difficult for Democrats to win what has become the least Republican district in Arkansas.

Oops, I didn’t post the remaining paragraphs of the article:

Griffin said the appointment means he won’t run for governor or challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in 2014, races he said he had considered.

“I was going to give some serious thought to other options, but this is such an honor and it is exactly the subject matter I’m interested in, that I think holds the key to a lot of our fiscal problems,” Griffin said.

The panel is the oldest committee in Congress and also deals with legislation related to trade agreements, the national debt, federal revenues and programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Only eight Arkansas residents have served on the committee since it was founded in 1789.

The last Arkansas congressman to serve on the panel was Beryl Anthony, a Democrat who represented south Arkansas’ 4th District. The late Congressman Wilbur Mills, who represented Arkansas’ 2nd District, chaired the panel for 18 years and remains the longest serving chairman of the committee.

The announcement leaves Republicans uncertain on who will challenge Pryor, who announced earlier this year that he would seek a third term. Others seen as potential challengers include Rep. Steve Womack and incoming Rep. Tom Cotton. Both have said they’re focused on their jobs in Washington.

Several Republicans are considering running for governor with Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe barred by term limits from running again. The potential candidates include former Congressman Asa Hutchinson, who said he’ll likely announce a decision in January. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, is the only announced gubernatorial candidate so far.

Well, Pryor is a Senator that the NRSC really needs to target for defeat. These deep red states are the way to go for the path to the majority. If not Griffin, who will run for Senate there? One of the other congressmen?

Pryor helped put ObamaCare on the map despite clear opposition from Arkansans. NRSC would be crazy to let this seat go unchallenged from a top tier candidate. What’s Huckabee up to these days? :)