Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) has announced he will not run for his old Senate seat, which is being vacated by retiring two-term Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, possibly leaving Democrats without a top-tier candidate.
“I have given the decision of becoming a candidate for the U.S. Senate very serious thought and prayer,” Kerrey said in an e-mail. “For many reasons I nearly said yes. In the end I choose to remain a private citizen. To those who urged me to do so, I am sorry, very sorry to have disappointed you. I hope you understand that I have chosen what I believe is best for my family and me.”
At the time he announced his retirement in late December, Nelson was already probably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent going into 2012.
Holding this seat will likely be very difficult for Democrats, as the state voted 57%-42% for John McCain in 2008, and has not voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide.
