Democrats lost a big name when former state Superintendent of Education and 2004 U.S. Senate nominee Inez Tenenbaum
announced at a luncheon last week that she would not be mounting a run for governor in 2010.

Tenenbaum confirmed the news to CQ Politics Tuesday, saying she had “been leaning that way for some.” She noted she had run four statewide campaigns, including her loss to Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in 2004, and was enjoying pursuing “a lot of different professional opportunities.”

“You just have to look at your options very carefully in state such as South Carolina, which trends Republican,” Tenenbaum said, though she added that Democrats have several strong candidates in 2010 and “have an opportunity to pick up that governor’s seat.”