INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Democrat Evan Bayh says he won't make a run in 2016 for a return to the Indiana governor's office.
The former U.S. senator and two-term governor said in a statement Friday that he hoped his decision would enable others to step forward.
Bayh had previously said factors he was considering included the strong Republican hold on the state Legislature and whether his style of leadership would be effective.
The 59-year-old Bayh retired from the Senate in 2010 but still has nearly $10 million in his campaign fund. He was elected governor in 1988 and 1992.
His discussion of running governor had put other possible Democratic candidates in limbo, including former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg, who lost a narrow race to Republican Gov. Mike Pence in 2012.
