Larry Cretul, the Republican Speaker of the Florida House, will not challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson.

Cretul’s decision was confirmed by the Ocala Star-Banner newspaper Sunday after multiple news reports suggested he would not run against Grayson, who won the 8th District seat in central Florida in 2008 by defeating Republican incumbent Ric Keller with 52 percent of the vote.

While Cretul was the most prominent among the potential Republican candidates for next year’s race, the GOP is still has a number of contenders who do want to take on Grayson. The heavy-hitters include state Rep. Stephen Precourt, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and former state Sen. Dan Webster.