This Philadelphia Democrat is the latest elected official to rule out a run for statewide office in 2022. 

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney told the Philadelphia Inquirer in an interview on Thursday that he will not be running for governor or U.S. Senate in 2022. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Kenney first expressed interest in a run for Governor in Oct. 2019 and a source told the Inquirer in January 2021 that the U.S. Senate race was also under “consideration.”

Kenney, who was comfortably reelected to a second term as mayor in November 2019, is term limited after this current four-year stretch. 

Prior to the 2020 election, he launched the “Kenney PAC,” which aimed to boost progressive candidates in legislative races in Pennsylvania. This move continued to fan the flames about a possible gubernatorial run in 2022. 

The Inquirer noted that Kenney’s name first surfaced as a potential statewide candidate after his first term, which included “several significant wins,” although his “political fortune and support have since dipped,” citing his administration’s recent struggles over multiple matters.

Kenney is the latest Pennsylvania Democrat to rule out a run for statewide office in 2022. 

In June, Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester), who were reportedly considering a run for U.S. Senate, announced that they would both instead seek reelection in the House in 2022. 

In April, Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) announced that he wouldn’t seek the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate in 2022, while Congresswoman Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) announced in May she also wouldn’t launch a bid for the statewide office. Boyle and Wild both said that they are also running for reelection in the House. 

The Democratic field for U.S. Senate is already crowded. 

Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, Dr. Kevin Baumlin, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Allegheny), and Eric Orts, a professor at Penn’s Wharton School of Business, have all launched their campaigns for Senate. State Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission for U.S. Senate and formally announced his exploratory committee in April. 

According to the FEC website, Brandaun Dean, Larry Johnson, Alexandria Khalil, Kyle Norton, Alan Shank, and Llewellyn Tapera have also filed statements of candidacy for the Democratic primary.

Chatter about the Democratic race for Governor has been much more quiet. 

Attorney General Josh Shapiro has been viewed as the Democratic frontrunner for Governor. Although Shapiro hasn’t formally announced his candidacy for Governor, he told Philadelphia Magazine in March that he plans to run for the statewide office.