Wil Cardon, who ran against Sen. Jeff Flake in 2012 primary, dead at the age of 46

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - The wife of an Arizona politician says he has died of suicide. Wil Cardon of Mesa, Arizona, was 46, according to a statement from Nicole Cardon.

The Republican businessman unsuccessfully ran against now Senator Jeff Flake in the primary in 2012. Cardon also lost a bid for Arizona Secretary of State in 2014.

The race against Flake as a challenger to the right will resonate in 2018 with a replay occurring.

Flake in a Twitter tribute called Cardon a friend who called to check on him after a Washington baseball game shooting left a congressman wounded.

Cardon's family said the man with a smile "as wide as Arizona" suffered from depression, a disease that he battled with "openness and honesty."

He is also survived by five children.