Ridge Not Running For PA Senate

Yesterday, I discussed Republican recruitment and noted that it's probably too early for the GOP to get their hopes up. Today, Tom Ridge proved that point by announcing he will not run for the Senate in 2010. Ridge's decision is not terribly surprising. Before Sen. Arlen Specter switched to the Democratic Party, Ridge likely never contemplated running for the seat. The obstacles were two-fold for Ridge. First, he would face a contentious primary against former Rep. Toomey. While Ridge had a good chance of defeating Toomey, Ridge's disfavor among conservatives would make any race a tough one. Second, even if he won the GOP primary, Ridge would face a difficult and expensive race against Sen. Arlen Specter.

Ridge's decision shows one of the tough things about recruiting candidates. Oftentimes, there are one one or two people in a state that are good enough candidates to make a race competitive. For the GOP in Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge was the only Republican who would have had a real shot against Specter. Of course, anything can happen, but the Democrats' chances of retaining this Senate seat have significantly improved.