A plan by state Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan to hire another of his rivals from the 2010 campaign is off.
McMillan had planned to hire Shelby County businessman Dale Peterson, who ran against McMillan in the Republican primary in 2010, but Peterson announced Thursday he's not going to work at the state agriculture department. Peterson says he realized McMillan was trying to neutralize him and keep him from being a potential candidate in 2014.
McMillan said he notified Peterson on Wednesday that the nearly $73,000-a-year job was off. McMillan said he received negative reaction to the hiring and it would be a distraction for the department.
McMillan hired his Democratic opponent, Glen Zorn, to be an assistant commissioner last year.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.