While speaking with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, Republican gubernatorial nominee Joe O’Dea made a shocking statement about 45th President Donald J. Trump. He admitted he believed Trump should not run in 2024, even floating the names of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former U.N. Ambassador under Trump Nikki Haley (R-SC) instead. The breaking from Trump comes as O’Dea faces a tough race in November, where he is polling neck-and-neck with incumbent Democrat Sen. Michael Bennett. A Marist poll shows him trailing the senator by only seven points.

MSN reports:

Colorado Republican Senate candidate Joe O’Dea said that he would “actively campaign against” former President Donald Trump if he were to run for president again in 2024.

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, host Dana Bash asked O’Dea if he thought that the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, should disqualify Trump from being president.

O’Dea, who is running as a center-right candidate, called Jan. 6 “a black eye on the country,” adding that he has been “very vocal” in saying he thinks Trump “should have done more to keep the violence from heading towards the Capitol.”

“I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,” O’Dea said.

He added, “I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now.”

“I’m going to do my job as a US senator to make sure that they have good campaigns in the primary here so we have a good selection of candidates for 2024,” O’Dea continued.