The Latest: Republican Sen. Flake won't seek re-election

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Sen. Jeff Flake's announcement that he will not run for re-election (all times EDT):

4:45 p.m.

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake says he will not seek re-election next year, delivering a forceful condemnation of the "flagrant disregard of truth and decency" and bemoaning political complicity in a Senate speech clearly directed at President Donald Trump.

The first-term Arizona lawmaker spelled out his frustration and disappointment in a Senate floor speech before relaying the news that he would not be on the ballot in 2018.

Flake says: "There are times we must risk our careers. Now is such a time."

Flake has criticized the path that the Republican Party has taken under Trump. He says the impulse "to threaten and scapegoat" could turn America and the GOP into a "fearful, backward-looking people" and a "fearful, backward- looking party."

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3:05 p.m.

A spokesman says GOP Sen. Jeff Flake will not run for re-election in 2018.

Flake, who has criticized the path that the Republican Party has taken under President Donald Trump, also told The Arizona Republic in advance of a Tuesday announcement, that "there may not be a place for a Republican like me" in the current GOP.

Flake's poll numbers had fallen after tangling with Trump. He had a tea party primary challenger in Kelli Ward, whom Trump has praised.