Ridge won’t challenge Specter for Senate

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R) said Thursday that he will not run for the Senate next year, denying Republicans of a high-profile and popular candidate to take on Sen. Arlen Specter since he switched parties.

“After careful consideration and many conversations with friends and family and the leadership of my party, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Senate,” Ridge said in a statement.

{mosads}Ridge’s name immediately surfaced in Republican circles when Specter announced he was switching parties last week. In addition to serving as governor for two terms in the 1990s, Ridge was also a congressman for more than a decade in the 1980s.

Former congressman and Club for Growth President Pat Toomey began challenging Specter for the Republican nomination before Specter became a Democrat.

Recent polling has shown that Ridge would have been in a good position to run. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday found that Specter led Ridge by only 3 percent, 46 percent to 43 percent.

Ridge’s announcement is a blow to Republicans who were hoping Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party would put the Senate race in play. Several prominent Republicans, including 2008 presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), have reportedly reached out to Ridge about running for the seat.

In his statement, Ridge discussed the state of the Republican Party and said that the GOP can return to power by focusing on new ideas to address the challenges facing the country.

“To those who believe that the Republican Party is facing challenges, they are right,” he said. “To those who believe the Democratic Party is without its own difficulties, they are wrong. No one party has a monopoly on all of the answers. The more important view, in my mind, is that we remember, whether Republican or Democrat, we are foremost Americans. And as Americans, we have always overcome challenges when we put partisanship aside and solutions first.”

Ridge’s decision leaves Toomey and anti-abortion activist Peg Luksik in the GOP primary. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) is also said to be considering a run.