Republican Rep. Mathew Pitsch, the House majority leader, has announced that he’ll run for the Senate District 8 seat currently held by Sen. Jake Files of Fort Smith.

Files, who’s been in the Senate since 2011, hasn’t announced re-election plans as far as I know.(UPDATE: Michael Wickline of the Democrat-Gazette says he’s not running.) He’s endured a succession of unflattering news stories about his struggling business and cash infusions from a lobbyist in the form of a loan and from a nursing home owner in the form of a cash transfer revealed in a lawsuit involving a Files business and not yet fully explained. His negative exposure mounted today with a report in the Fort Smith Times-Record of foreclosure of a loan on an apartment development in Fort Smith. Files was among those who signed the original note.

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Pitsch’s news release made no mention of Files. He said he hoped to continue to focus on representing Fort Smith and promoting economic development.

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