PA-Sen: Matthews Won't Run

Before his show "Hardball" today, Chris Matthews informed the show's staff in a production meeting that he will not be running for Senate in 2010, according to Politico.

Matthews, who was thought to be a credible challenger for the Pennsylvania Senate seat held by Arlen Specter (R), and was polling well against him in a hypothetical match-up.

Matthews reportedly met with political operatives about the possibility of running against Specter, and talked about it with his family, friends, and colleagues. A Matthews candidacy would have likely cleared the the majority of the primary field on the Democratic side.

But instead, we can now expect there to be a competitive primary on the Democratic side, featuring Rep. Patrick Murphy and Rep. Allyson Schwartz as the potential front-runners.