海角大神

Former Los Angeles Mayor聽Antonio聽Villaraigosa, once considered a rising star in the聽Democratic Party, said on Tuesday he had decided against running for the U.S.聽Senate聽seat being vacated next year by the retirement of Democratic incumbent聽Barbara Boxer.

Villaraigosa, 62, widely believed to still be weighing a possible 2018 bid for governor, said in a message posted on Facebook that he wished to "continue my efforts to make聽California聽a better place to live, work and raise a family."

His decision to bow out of contention for the U.S.聽Senate聽leaves聽California聽Attorney General聽Kamala Harris, a fellow Democrat, as the clear front-runner to succeed Boxer in 2016.

California's lieutenant governor, former聽San Francisco聽Mayor聽Gavin Newsom, had been seen as a possible聽Senate聽candidate but he announced this month that he would run instead for governor in 2018.

The incumbent governor,聽Jerry Brown, 76, will leave office at the end of his fourth term in 2018 because of term limits.聽California's other U.S. senator,聽Dianne Feinstein, will be 85 when her current term ends in 2018 but has not said whether she would seek re-election.

Villaraigosa, a former聽California Assembly聽speaker who served as mayor of聽America's second-most populous city from 2005 through 2013, saw his reputation battered by an extramarital affair and criticism that he was ineffective in addressing many of the city's problems. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Eric Walsh and Mohammad Zargham)