Ben Affleck Officially Not Running For Senate In Massachusetts

Despite public pressure to run for John Kerry‘s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat, famed actor Ben Affleck has officially shut down any rumors to his candidacy.

Taking to his personal Facebook page on Monday evening, the Oscar-winning screenwriter pointedly wrote: “I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office.”

He emphasized that he will continue to raise awareness for his various causes: “Right now it’s a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the U.S. everyday and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran.”

“We are about to get a great Secretary of State and there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat,” he added. “I look forward to an amazing campaign.”

Affleck was a popular rumored candidate, especially after his Sunday appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation in which he reticently said, “One never knows,” when asked whether he’d run.

The heavily-speculated candidates include recently-defeated GOP Sen. Scott Brown, while Reps. Michael Capuano, Stephen Lynch, and Ed Markey have been rumored on the Democratic side.

[h/t HuffPost]

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