Just days after Scott Brown announced that he would not be running in the Special Election to fill John Kerry’s Senate seat, another Republican has made the same choice:
Richard Tisei, one of the Republicans’ best hopes for the now-longshot Massachusetts Senate special election after Scott Brown took a pass, announced Saturday night that he too will sit out the race.
“I believe it’s imperative that the Republican party put forward a strong candidate who can help bring much-needed change to Washington,” former State Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the timing is simply not right for me to do so — deeply as I feel about the need to strongly compete in this election. It was also my desire to make this decision as quickly as possible so that other potential candidates would be able to consider whether they should run.”
Tisei, 50, is keeping the door open to a future run for Congress. He’s openly gay, supports abortion rights and narrowly lost a House bid to Democratic congressman John Tierney in November.
“Whether as a candidate or concerned citizen, I will continue to be involved with other men and women of integrity who share my desire for real reforms,” Tisei said.
Other Republicans who might still run for the Senate nomination are former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and former Gov. William Weld (who recently moved back to the state from New York). Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy Seal who works in finance, had expressed interest even before Brown’s announcement.
There’s buzz in some quarters about a member of the Romney family running, but that is unlikely at best.
Without a big statewide name like Weld or Healey, it’s hard to see the GOP having a chance at this seat.
