Chris Matthews decides he won’t run for the U.S. Senate

Published 10:29 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2009

NEW YORK — MSNBC host Chris Matthews put an end to speculation that he was considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, telling his producers on Wednesday that he had decided not to jump into the 2010 race in his home state of Pennsylvania.

In a routine production meeting before his daily show “Hardball,” Matthews informed the staff that he was not going to pursue the seat, network spokesman Jeremy Gaines said. Matthews, who is negotiating a new contract at MSNBC, declined to comment.

For several months, Matthews toyed with taking on Republican Sen. Arlen Specter. He went so far as to talk to state Democratic power brokers about what it would take to challenge Specter, a five-term senator.