Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller has dropped out of the primary race for the 5th Congressional District.

As East Valley Tribune's Paul Giblin reports:

"He made the decision after losing two key campaign staff members just as he was preparing to ramp up the campaign. His campaign coordinator died unexpectedly Friday, a day after his speech writer told him she had to cut back her work because of other commitments.

"Further complicating his efforts, Hatch-Miller’s chief of staff at the ACC informed him Wednesday that he was leaving his post to take a higher-paying position in the private sector.

"'It just wasn’t working out, so I did decide along with Anita this morning that we would pull the plug on the campaign and wait for another day,” Hatch-Miller said."

That leaves attorney Jim Ogsbury, fmr. Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert, fmr. State Rep. Laura Knaperek and State Rep. Mark Anderson in the race to be the Republican candidate challenging incumbent Harry Mitchell. Lobbyist Susan Bitter Smith has also formed an exploratory committee to weigh entering the field.