Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a popular local GOP official, will not take on Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu in 2014.

“I’m not going to run for the U.S. Senate,” he told LaPolitics.com Friday.

George C. Kennedy, Dardenne’s longtime strategist, confirmed the news.

Landrieu is a top GOP target in 2014. Her state has increasingly voted for Republicans in recent years, including for Mitt Romney in 2012.

Dardenne first publicly floated the idea of Senate run in an interview with CQ Roll Call earlier this month.

Other potential Republican candidates for Senate include Reps. John Fleming and Bill Cassidy, as well as former Rep. Jeff Landry.