Former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert officially became the Republican Party's nominee for the 5th Congressional District seat Friday, and will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) in the general election in November. 

Schweikert's official victory comes as Susan Bitter Smith, another contender in the 5th district GOP primary, who came very close to edging out Schweikert in Tuesday's vote, publicly endorsed him as the Republican candidate.

Bitter Smith had been waiting for the results of the official ballot count before dropping out. Friday, however, an announcement appeared on her website that read:

"Now it appears that enough ballots have been counted to project a likely winner. Today, Susan announced her support of David Schweikert as the Republican nominee in Arizona's Fifth Congressional District election in November."

The concession ends what became a rancorous contest between the two in the final stretch of the primary campaign. Internal polls showed Bitter Smith and Schweikert in a dead heat going into the Sept. 2 vote, with the rest of the six-person field lagging significantly behind. It wasn't long after the race firmed up into a two-person contest that a war of words erupted in television ads, the media and mail pieces, with each candidate slamming the other on a host of issues.

In an email to supporters sent out Friday, however, Bitter Smith gave notice that those battles were in the past.

“I strongly urge voters to support our nominee," Bitter Smith wrote. "He is ready to take on Harry Mitchell and the string of broken promises he made to get elected two years ago. Voting for David is the best chance voters in the District have to secure the border, reduce gas prices and cut taxes and eliminate wasteful spending to balance the budget.”