Former state Sen. Richard Tisei and state Rep. Dan Winslow, both Republicans, floated the possibility that they might run for Senate in Massachusetts on the heels of former Sen. Scott P. Brown’s announcement that he will not run in the special election to succeed Secretary of State John Kerry.
Without Brown, the Republican bench in Massachusetts is thin, with no obvious candidate for a statewide bid.
“I will reflect this weekend about my own family’s needs and whether there is room in the national Republican Party for a member who is both fiscally prudent and socially tolerant,” Winslow, an attorney and former chief counsel to Brown and ex-Gov. Mitt Romney, said in a statement.
Tisei, who lost a hard-fought race against Democratic Rep. John F. Tierney in November, said he was evaluating the race.
“[I]n the coming days, I will be talking with family, friends, and supporters to consider the best role that I can play in helping to bring new, alternative leadership to Washington,” he said in a statement.
Democratic Reps. Stephen F. Lynch and Edward J. Markey are battling for the Democratic nomination. The general election will be held June 25. CQ Roll Call rates the Massachusetts Senate special election as Likely Democratic.
