Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling will not challenge John Boehner for speaker of the House.

“Jeb Hensarling looks forward to continuing his service in the 114th Congress as House Financial Services Committee Chairman,” his chief of staff Andrew Duke said. “He will support the Speaker candidate who receives the support of the Republican conference - and he fully expects that person will be John Boehner.”

Hensarling has long been mentioned as an alternative to Boehner for the party’s top slot in the House. Many conservative groups outside the Capitol have been pining for the Texan to run. His decision to forgo a race will be met with glee inside the GOP leadership, even though toppling the speaker would’ve been very difficult.

Boehner has already started whipping support for his candidacy for speaker, and his allies expect him to hold onto the gavel. The intra-party election will be next week, and the full House will vote for speaker of the House in January. Hensarling would’ve had a hard time beating Boehner, but was seen by some in the speaker’s orbit as a threat.

In May, Hensarling seemed to be mulling a challenge to Boehner. In an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Hensarling said he would “wait until after November and decide what is it I can do to help advance the cause of freedom and free enterprise the best. And I’ll look around and see what I can do.”

“If you’re asking me to be Shermanesque, you know, I’m not sure they would ever invite me to play drums with Led Zeppelin, but you know, I’m not going to say no, just in case the invitation comes,” Hensarling said in May.

Hensarling has competition for the Financial Services gavel. Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas is challenging the Texan. The GOP steering committee will make a decision on chairmanships the next few weeks.