BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (AP) — Republican state Sen. Jessica de la Cruz has ended her bid for Congress just about a month after formally launching her campaign.

“While I was encouraged by the strong grassroots support my campaign received, right now, the best place for me to fight for Rhode Islanders is in the state Senate,” she said in a statement late Thursday.

She said many of her supporters had asked her to stay in the state legislature and continue fighting for such causes as “suspending the gas tax, parental rights in education, and our constitutional freedoms.”

She had long been considering a run to succeed Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin in Congress, who announced Jan. 18 that he wouldn’t seek reelection after representing the district covering western Rhode Island since 2001. De la Cruz formally entered the race on March 16.

De la Cruz, 40, was first elected to the senate district representing Burrillville, Glocester and North Smithfield in November 2018.

There are now two Republicans remaining in the race — former Cranston Mayor and two-time gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung, and former state Rep. Robert Lancia. De la Cruz said she was now endorsing Fung.

The Democrats who remain in the race include state Treasurer Seth Magaziner; Joy Fox, a former top aide to Langevin; Biden administration official Sarah Morgenthau; Omar Bah, executive director of The Refugee Dream Center in Providence; and former political strategist Michael Neary.