Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn had dropped brewing plans to run for the Board of Equalization or Democrat Jim Costa's 20th Congressional District seat.
While Republican Scott Brown's recent Senate victory in Massachusetts has shaken many Democratic candidates, the Bakersfield Republican also cited Brown's surprise win as a reason for not running.
Here's what Ashburn, who is termed out this year, told the Bakersfield Californian:
"I think people are looking for new faces and new people," Ashburn said. "I think that was one of the messages I took out of the vote in Massachusetts."
He was referring to Republican Scott Brown's win last week of the Senate seat opened by the death of Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., last year. Analysts have in part attributed that win to voter disenfranchisement with establishment politicians.
Ashburn said he doesn't know what he will do after he's termed out of office at the end of this year but that "I'm sure I'll find ways to keep busy." Asked if he's ruling out any future run for public office, he said: "it's never smart to say never."
"(For now) I'm very committed to being the very best representative in the Senate I can this year," Ashburn said.
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Updated: An earlier version of this post misspelled Ashburn's name in the headline.
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