ST. LOUIS—Missouri State Sen. President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said Monday that he will not be a candidate on the 2024 ballot, after previously announcing a run for Secretary of State.

Filing for the Aug. 6 primary closes March 26. Rowden, a Columbia Republican, had not formally filed his candidacy.

“When I announced my intention to run for Secretary of State last November, I truly believed it was the best decision for my family and I. Through a number of additional conversations with my wife and those close to our family, I no longer believe that to be true.

Today I am announcing I will not be a candidate for office in 2024. I am as certain as I have ever been that this is the right decision for me and my family in this season of our lives,” Rowden said in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rowden is in his final legislative session and cannot seek re-election due to term limits. In his roles within Senate leadership, Rowden has often clashed with members of the former “Conservative Caucus” which has re-emerged this year as the Freedom Caucus.

“While there have always been deep political and philosophical disagreements about how to get to a desired outcome, the desired outcome and the facts used to make decisions used to be shared values. More and more, the latter no longer seems to be the case. Consensus-building was once a trait that was admired and rewarded. That no longer seems to be the case.

I am not certain when these shifts started, and I am not certain when, or if, they will shift back. That is not for me to decide, but for the voters who elect men and women to serve in these positions,” Rowden said.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, State Rep. Adam Schwadron, R-St. Charles and Valentina Gomez of St. Louis are the Republicans who have filed for the contest.

Monique Williams and State Rep. Barbara Phifer, of Kirkwood, are the filed Democrats.