Four days after dropping out of the race for Congressional District 5, Republican Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller said he had no plans to endorse in the GOP field.

“It’s going to have to work itself out among the candidates,” Hatch-Miller told PolitickerAZ.com, adding that he would support the Republican general election nominee in a race against Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell, provided the candidate had run an “upright race”.

Hatch-Miller would not address any of the Republicans in the race specifically, saying only that they “would have to speak for themselves.”

He did, however, say that not all of the candidates running were “being clear on who they are” as Republicans.

On Thursday, Hatch-Miller, who has served on the Corporation Commission since 2002, announced that he was exiting the 5th Congressional district race. His decision, he explained, came after he learned of the death of campaign coordinator Betsy Rodies. Additionally, the departure of Dean Miller from the Corporation Commission encouraged Hatch-Miller to stay on.

“The difficulties of the past week have caused me to reflect and review my priorities,” Hatch-Miller wrote in a weekend letter to supporters. “I brought my family together and we had a serious discussion on the direction we should take with regard to my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives … It has become clear to me that the timing and circumstances are just not right.”

Hatch-Miller’s departure leaves the field to Republicans Mark Anderson, Laura Knaperek, Jim Ogsbury, David Schweikert, and Susan Bitter-Smith. Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell is serving his first term after defeating Republican J.D. Hayworth.

Hatch-Miller said the decision to exit the race “took a week of extreme agony.”

It was difficult, he said, especially because he felt he could win.

“We were winning,” he said. “Everything was going really well.”

“We were really feeling very strong.”

Hatch-Miller’s departure from the races comes at a time when Republican fortunes on the congressional level seem to have dimmed. The party has faced a series of congressional retirements and at the end of January, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee maintained a nearly $30 million cash-on-hand advantage over its Republican counterpart. And on Saturday, in what might serve as an indicator of the difficult electoral landscape Republicans face, Republicans lost the seat of retiring Illinois Congressman Dennis Hastert.

Hatch-Miller acknowledged the party’s difficulties.

“It’s going to be a tough year, no doubt about it,” he said. “The Illinois loss stings.”