Summary Affleck, who was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has frequently featured the state in his films.
WASHINGTON: Actor Ben Affleck says he will not run for the US Senate, after speculation he would stand for a seat in Massachusetts.
He had been rumoured as a replacement for Senator John Kerry, who has been nominated by President Obama to replace Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State.
"I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office," the 40-year-old wrote.
"We are about to get a great Secretary of State and there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat. I look forward to an amazing campaign."
Affleck, who was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has frequently featured the state in his films. He won an Oscar for co-writing Good Will Hunting, which used the Massachusetts' Institute of Technology and Harvard University as its backdrops.
Other more recent directorial efforts The Town and Gone Baby Gone have both been set in Boston.
The rumours of his candidacy for Senate gained some traction last weekend, when he appeared on CBS political programme Face The Nation.
Asked whether he intended to stand, the actor appeared not to rule out the possibility, saying he had a "great fondness and admiration for the political process," but would not "get into speculation" about his ambitions.
However, he added, he was "really happy being involved from the outside in government", having recently testified before the House Armed Services Committee on the conflict in Congo.
