FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP): The Republican leader of the Indiana Senate has picked up a GOP primary challenger just days after the failure of his push for the Legislature to extend civil rights protections to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

John Kessler of Fort Wayne filed Thursday with state election officials to run against Senate President Pro Tem David Long in the May primary.

Kessler has been the director for Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne’s Center for Economic Education since 2006. Kessler declined to comment Thursday on his candidacy.

Long told The Associated Press that he’s never met Kessler, but he expected to have a challenger because of his involvement in the effort to extend anti-discrimination protections. Long was first elected to his Fort Wayne seat in 1996 and became the Senate leader in 2006.