Chicago City Wire

Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has ruled out a possible run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, saying that he doesn't want to use up what he said might be his "last eight useful years" in Washington, where he feels it's hard to make a difference.

According a statement to POLITICO, Daniels said that running for Senate next year to attempt to replace the retiring Sen. Mike Braun didn't interest him, as Congressional life wouldn't suit him well at this point in his life.

"As we can see, it's difficult for people, any one person, to get something meaningful done and out there in that, in that venue," he explained. "And yes, I'm not a fan of Washington, D.C. and the culture there. And so, I had scouted it out but didn't see anything that told me that this was the right way to use the next really eight years. It might be my last eight useful years."

Daniels became the president of Purdue University after completing two terms as Indiana's governor, where he initiated several reforms to enhance the performance of state government. As president of Purdue, Daniels launched the Purdue Moves initiative and prioritized student affordability and success, pledging to make education accessible to all students and families, according to Daniels' biography.

Earlier in his career, Daniels served as executive director of the Senate Republican campaign committee, making a prediction in 1984 that the ballot integrity would be the "most significant factor" in determining the outcome of the Illinois Senate race that year, according to the New York Times. That claim resulted in Republican strategists launching ballot security programs out of concern for election fraud in Illinois and North Carolina.

Now, however, elected office may be a thing of the past, Daniels said, telling Chicago's Morning Line answer he may be done with public life.

"In the end, it wasn't a hard call. I had never really fancied myself in legislative office," he said of the Senate. "I've been lucky enough to hold what I would call action jobs all along, but it was business or as governor, and then, of course, the years at Purdue, and a lot of people I admired and respect said 'you really had to do this. The country has problems. You're worried about them, too, aren't you?'"

However, he said, after considering it, he simply said no. "I don't know any shorter way to say it," he added.