Condoleezza Rice will not be running for the U.S. senate in 2016

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not be running for the U.S. senate in 2016.

The current Democratic Party’s senator from California, Barbara Boxer will be retiring next year, and it was widely anticipated that Rice would have the best shot at replacing her.

Last week, Rice topped a statewide Field Poll of 18 potential candidates, drawing the support of 49 percent of likely voters, compared with 46 percent for state Attorney General Kamala Harris, the only declared Democratic candidate so far. That sparked a fresh flurry of speculation about a Rice candidacy — and the latest emphatic denial from her chief of staff that she has any interest in the race.

Rice’s standing in the poll doubtless reflects mostly name recognition, but the nature of her potential candidacy reflects something more profound: the deep hole Republicans have dug for themselves in the state that once produced Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Read more: Politico