Ben Affleck Senate: Star Will Not Run for Massachusetts Senate Seat

Impact

Ben Affleck declined to run for John Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts if the former presidential candidate is confirmed as President Barack Obama's next secretary of state, reported The New York Times

"I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office," said the Academy Award-winning director of Argo through a post on his Facebook page

Affleck had prompted speculation about a potential Senate run because of the political nature of his latest film Argo, which tells the story of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The promotion of the film has brought the actor and director to talk Middle Eastern and national politics on several television shows.

One of these shows was CBS' Face the Nation where host Bob Schieffer asked him about the potential senate run in his home state of Massachusetts. "One never knows," said Affleck back then.   

But now, Affleck has denied he'd go for it, preferring to focus instead on his Eastern Congo Initiative, a charity he founded to promote peaceful development — according to the Times.

"We are about to get a great secretary of state," Affleck said about Senator Kerry's nomination for the post. He added, “there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat."