Ben Affleck Declines Run for Senate

Ben Affleck will stick to the campaigning for Oscars, not political office.

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The Argo director took to Facebook on Christmas Eve to shoot down speculation that he might run for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts being vacated by John Kerry, who has been nominated by President Obama to replace Hilary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State. 

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"I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office," he wrote. "Right now it's a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the U.S. everyday and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran.

"We are about to get a great Secretary of State and there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat," the post continued. "I look forward to an amazing campaign. Happy Holidays to All."

Affleck was whispered about as a candidate for a short time after it became apparent that Kerry would receive the nomination to head up the Department of State; the speculation that he might run grew once he danced around the issue during an interview that was broadcast Sunday on Meet the Press

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