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Former Homeland Security Sec. Tom Ridge Decides Against Senate Run
May 8, 2009 9:20 a.m. EST
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Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Former Homeland Security Sec. Tom Ridge on Thursday announced that he will not run for the Senate next year. Republicans had been wooing Ridge due to concerns that the GOP candidates in the race are too conservative to win against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who defected to the Democratic Party last week.
In a statement, Ridge said, "The 2010 race has significant implications for my party, and that required thoughtful reflection. All of the above made my decision a difficult and deeply personal conclusion to reach. However, this process also impressed upon me how fortunate I am to have so many friends who volunteered to support my journey if I chose to take it and continue to offer their support."
"To those who believe that the Republican Party is facing challenges, they are right," he added. "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... my desire and intention is to help my party craft solutions that both sides of the aisle can embrace."
Later on MSNBC's Hardball he told Chris Matthews that it was the "toughest personal and political decision" he ever had to make. He refused to declare his support for the conservative running against Specter, Pat Toomey, but said the GOP needs to be more inclusive of dissenting views.
"We think there's great opportunities not only in Pennsylvania in 2010 but long term," he said. "There are certain principles that guide us. But frankly, I think we have to reshape our message, reduce the decibel level - we're a little bit too doggone shrill - and be less judgmental about those people within the party that may disagree with us from time to time."
Asked if he would vote for Specter, who is a moderate like him, or Toomey, Ridge replied, "It's a wonderful country, this America. It's called a secret ballot."
Specter left the GOP two weeks after Toomey launched his campaign for the Senate. The senator had been under conservative fire for months for supporting for several Obama administration bills, including the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Pennsylvania's primaries are closed, and Toomey's conservatism was expected to naturally attract more Republican votes but Specter would have made a stronger general election candidate.
The defection had been met with scorn by Republican leaders, who accused Specter of desperate self-preservation, but it was used by GOP moderates to warn that the party was shutting out centrist views and moving far to the right.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) had told Politico, "We're heading to having the smallest political tent in history, the way things are unfolding."
The GOP had suffered huge losses in the last elections, and Democrats have control of both Congress and the White House for the first time in 15 years.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, had criticized Specter for switching but later told the New York Times that he would seek candidates who can win in Democratic or swing states even if he had to support views that he disagrees with.
Ridge is a pro-choice Republican and a former governor of Pennsylvania, a swing state. He was said to have been vetted last year to be Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) running mate.
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