text: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) ended his bid to become the next House majority leader on Thursday night, leaving Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as the only candidate to replace Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who was defeated in a historic primary loss on Tuesday. 
   
   "After thoughtful consideration and discussion with my colleagues, I have made the decision to not continue my run for House majority leader," Sessions said in a statement. 
   
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   "Today, it became obvious to me that the measures necessary to run a successful campaign would have created unnecessary and painful division within our party. At this critical time, we must remain unified as a Republican conference. As always, I stand ready and willing to work with our team to advance the conservative agenda that the American people demand and deserve." 
   
   Sessions is the House Rules Committee chairman and former head of the House GOP campaign committee. 
   
   Barring a late, new challenger, McCarthy will become the second-ranking House Republican after the leadership election scheduled for June 19. 
   
   While Sessions began seeking support within minutes of Cantor's surprise loss, he could not overcome the advantage that McCarthy had built up as the party's chief vote counter and top fund-raiser. 
   
   He also struggled to unify the conference's right flank. Many conservatives wanted another Texan, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, to seek the post, but he decided Thursday morning to stay out of the race. And as the Texas delegation deliberated over which member to support, McCarthy moved aggressively behind the scenes to lock down support. 
   
   McCarthy was further aided by Speaker John Boehner's (Ohio) decision to schedule the secret ballot election just over a week after Cantor's announcement that he would step down. The quick turnaround left little time for Sessions or other challengers to build enough support to take out McCarthy. Cantor will stay on as majority leader until July 31 to provide a transition. 
   
   Three other top conservatives, Reps. Paul Ryan (Wis.), Tom Price (Ga.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio), have also passed on the race. 
   
   Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) is taking a look at challenging McCarthy, and a source familiar with his thinking said he's "getting a lot of encouragement from members." The conservative is well regarded by his fellow members of the 2010 GOP class, but it's not clear whether he could seriously threaten McCarthy. 
   
   With McCarthy likely to become majority leader, the more competitive leadership election became the race to replace him as whip. 
   
   That race pits McCarthy's chief deputy, Rep. Peter Roskam (Ill.), against the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Rep. Steve Scalise (La.), and another conservative, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (Ind.), who surprised many members with his entry on Thursday morning. 
   
   — This story was updated at 9:39 p.m. ||||| U.S. Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) talks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting with House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) (not pictured) and the House Republican caucus at the U.S. Capitol in Washington June 11, 2014. 
   
   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Representative Pete Sessions said on Thursday night he was dropping out of the race for House majority leader, leaving just one candidate in the contest to replace Eric Cantor. 
   
   "After thoughtful consideration, I made the decision to not continue my run for House Majority Leader," the Texas lawmaker said in a statement. "Today, it became obvious to me that the measures necessary to run a successful campaign would have created unnecessary and painful division within our party. 
   
   His decision leaves Representative Kevin McCarthy of California as the only lawmaker known to be lobbying for the No. 2 Republican position in the House of Representatives. 
   
   (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Cooney)
target: – Unless a surprise challenger emerges at the last minute, the race to replace Eric Cantor as the House's second-ranking Republican is already over. House Rules Committee chief Pete Sessions says he has dropped his bid to become majority leader "after thoughtful consideration and discussion" with colleagues, leaving Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy as the only lawmaker known to be seeking the position, reports Reuters. Cantor—the first majority leader ever to lose a primary—is stepping down at the end of July following his shock defeat at the hands of little-known Tea Party challenger David Brat. "It became obvious to me that the measures necessary to run a successful campaign would have created unnecessary and painful division within our party," Sessions said. The leadership election will be held by secret ballot next week but the more competitive race is now the one to succeed McCarthy as whip, the Hill finds. McCarthy's chief deputy, Rep. Peter Roskam, is in the running, along with Rep. Steve Scalise, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a hardline conservative who was punished last year for defying House leaders, the Indianapolis Star notes.