Markey, Card won't run for Senate

Rep. Ed Markey (D) and former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card (R) both announced Friday that they won't run for Ted Kennedy's seat.

Markey would have had to give up his seniority as the dean of the state's congressional delegation.

''I will have more clout for Massachusetts in the House than as a freshman in the Senate,'' Markey told the Boston Globe. ''That was at the heart of my decision.''

Card had said this week that he was leaning toward running what would have been an uphill race. But just as quickly, he decided he would turn it down.

“Ultimately, the decision is what I believe to be in the best interest of my family. Now is not the right time for me to enter a political race,” Card said in a statement.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) is in the race, and Reps. Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch are both expected to run on the Democratic side and have pulled the necessary paperwork. Rep. John Tierney is weighing his options.

On the Republican side, the party appears to be coalescing around state Sen. Scott Brown.