BATON ROUGE, La. — After much speculation, John Bel Edwards — a Democrat who defied near-universal predictions by being elected governor twice in the reliably red state of Louisiana — announced on Monday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate.

The announcement ended months of guessing whether the former governor would enter the 2026 race, hurting Democratic hopes of finding the right candidate to flip Louisiana’s Republican seat, currently held by U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy. But in a post on the social platform X, Edwards said that after “careful consideration” he decided that “now is not the right time to re-enter public office.”

“After eight years in the Governor’s Office, and with two grandbabies at home, we’re committed to being the best Papa and Nonna we can be,” Edwards, 59, said about himself and his wife.

Edwards, who vacated the governor’s office in 2024 due to term limits, said that during next year’s Senate election he hopes voters ”will reject the extremist politicians that have paralyzed progress in this nation.”

“I’m going to do all I can as a private citizen to advance that cause,” Edwards concluded.

Among the Republicans so far challenging Cassidy are State Treasurer John Fleming, state Sen. Blake Miguez and Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta. President Donald Trump and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry have also reportedly discussed the possibility of a challenge from U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow.

It is unclear what Democrat will step up to run, in what is sure to be an uphill battle in a state where voters overwhelmingly backed Trump in the last three presidential votes.

Pundits have questioned Cassidy’s political future following his vote in the Senate trial over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Cassidy joined Democrats and six other Republicans in backing conviction, drawing condemnation from party colleagues and censure by Louisiana Republicans.

While Cassidy handily won his last election in 2020, he has not faced voters at the polls since his Senate trial vote.