(Radio Iowa) – One of the Republican leaders in the state senate who faced a strong challenge in June’s G-O-P Primary is resigning. Waylon Brown of Osage is a farmer who owns a construction company. He’s been a state senator since 2017 and has been the majority whip for Senate Republicans. In a written statement, Brown said his “departure” from the Iowa Senate would be effective on Wednesday, but offered no other explanation for his resignation.

Brown had been running for reelection in a district that covers all of Cerro Gordo, Mitchell and Worth Counties and a small part of Floyd County. Doug Campbell, a former Mason City school board member, was Brown’s G-O-P challenger in the June Primary and made opposition to the carbon pipeline project a main issue. Campbell finished within about five points of the incumbent Brown, a farmer who owns a construction company.

Under state law, Republicans in Brown’s state senate district may hold a convention and nominate someone to run for the seat.