Capuano won’t run again for US Senate

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

US Representative Michael E. Capuano said today that he will not run for US Senate next year in a crowded Democratic field vying to challenge Republican Scott Brown.

“After serious personal reflection, I have decided not to seek the US Senate seat for Massachusetts at this time,” the Somerville Democrat said in a prepared statement. “There are several good candidates currently in the race and I am fully satisfied that any nominee from this group will represent Massachusetts effectively in the Senate. Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to seek the Senate seat. I very much appreciate your support and your insight. I look forward to seeking re-election to the House in 2012.”

Capuano ran in the 2009/2010 special election to replace the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He finished second in the 2009 Democratic primary to Martha Coakley, the attorney general. She went on to lose the January 2010 special election to Brown.

The incumbent is now seeking his first full, six-year Senate term.

Capuano and other members of the state’s US House delegation are now facing new and unknown districts as the Massachusetts Legislature reshapes the congressional map following the 2010 Census. The state will have nine members of the House instead of 10 because its share of the national population declined.

Running for Senate could have prompted a dramatic reshaping of Capuano’s current area, the 8th Congressional District.

Six candidates have announced they are running in the Democratic Senate primary including Alan Khazei, co-founder of City Year; Setti Warren, mayor of Newton; Bob Massie, a former lieutenant governor candidate; and Thomas P. Conroy, a state legislator.

Elizabeth Warren, a former advisor to President Obama, is also likely to enter and said she will announce her intentions shortly.