Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., announced Friday that he will not run for president in 2020 and will remain in the Senate.
In a statement, the Pennsylvania Democrat said that he considered a bid over the last two months after winning a third term in November. He called on the party to nominate someone who can win in his home state, which supported President Trump in 2016.
“With all of these challenges confronting us and with our Commonwealth playing a potentially decisive role in the 2020 vote, I believed it was important for me to at least consider the monumental undertaking of running for President,” Casey said in a statement. “After two months of considering it, I have concluded that the best way for me to fight for the America that so many of us believe in is to stay in the U.S. Senate and not run for the presidency in 2020.”
“2020 is not the time for me to run for President, but it is the right time for me to continue to fight the battles I have fought as U.S. Senator and state official,” Casey said. “I have no doubt that our Democratic Party will nominate a candidate who can win Pennsylvania and the Presidency.”
[Read more: 45 Democrats jostling to challenge Trump in 2020]
Casey, who defeated Rep. Lou Barletta in his bid for re-election in November, is the latest in a string of high-profile Democrats to announce they will not run, including Tom Steyer and Michael Avenatti.
The current Democratic field is headlined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., both of whom have announced exploratory committees. Gillibrand is slated to travel to Iowa Friday, while Warren made her inaugural swing through the state two weekends ago.
