WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday that he will not run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.).
“I believe continuing to serve as Chairman of the House Budget Committee allows me to have a greater impact in averting this debt-fueled economic crisis than if I were to run for the United States Senate,” Ryan said in a statement posted to his website.
“House Republicans have taken bold steps forward in tackling our fiscal and economic challenges — we have led, where others have not. I want to keep building on this progress and therefore, I will seek to continue serving my employers of Wisconsin’s First District as their Representative in the House,” the statement said.
Kohl announced Friday that he would not seek re-election in 2012, saying he believed it was better to leave a job too early than too late. Kohl, Wisconsin’s 76-year-old senior senator, has served in the US Senate since being elected in 1988 and has won re-election by comfortable margins three times.
Ryan’s decision is likely to pave the way for former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson to make a run for the open seat. Thompson, who also served as US Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush, was reportedly talking with former staff members and assessing the situation, FOX News reported.
A Republican strategist told FOX that Thompson’s camp had told top party officials that Thompson intends to run if Ryan does not.