Former Indiana Democratic governor Joe Kernan has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace retiring Sen. Evan Bayh. But Kernan tells National Review Online that he is not interested in running. “I trust that we’ll have a good candidate,” he says. “I won’t speculate because I don’t know who might be interested.”

“I don’t think electoral politics had anything to do with Senator Bayh’s decision,” Kernan says. “If he had run, he would have won. I’m grateful for his service, and I was surprised and disappointed to hear the news.”

Kernan, a former mayor of South Bend, is president of the South Bend Silver Hawks, a minor-league baseball team. He also teaches at the University of Notre Dame.