Bullock Squashes Talk of Senate Run After Presidential Bid

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday that he doesn’t know what’s next for him after his long-shot presidential bid fizzled, but he knows one thing for sure: He’s not running for Senate.

Bullock said repeatedly during his first news conference since he suspended his presidential campaign that he won’t challenge first-term Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

“I’ve said before, during and after that I’m not going to be running for Senate,” Bullock said. “I’ve made that clear, that’s just not what I want to do.”

That may dash the hopes of some Democrats who saw Bullock as the party’s best chance for flipping Daines’ seat. Democrats would need to gain four seats — or three seats and the vice president’s tie-breaking vote — to win control of the Senate.

The governor said he will spend his final year in office thinking about his next move, and that he would consider a Cabinet position if a Democrat defeats President Donald Trump next year and offers him one.

“If a president-elect called, you’d have to take the call,“ Bullock said. ”But right now, look, I’m focusing, I still get to do this job for a year and there’s still a lot more to do.”

Bullock said he dropped out of the presidential race Monday because he realized he wouldn’t be able to break through the crowded field and into the top tier of candidates by the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. He attributed the failure in part to getting into the race late and not meeting the criteria to participate in televised debates, but he acknowledged it also may be that his moderate message didn’t appeal to enough voters.