Affleck tells Facebook followers he will not seek Kerry’s seat

Ben Affleck, the actor, director, and Massachusetts native, will not be a candidate to fill Senator John F. Kerry's seat.

Affleck, 40, took to his Facebook page on Christmas Eve to make the announcement.

“I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office,” Affleck 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's name has been included in the list of potential candidates that could seek to replace Kerry, assuming his nomination to be secretary of state is approved. WBZ political analyst Jon Keller and CBS News "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer have been among those to add to the discussion of Affleck's potential candidacy.

But Affleck, whose movie "Argo" is considered a leading contender for multiple Academy Awards, told his 352,399 Facebook followers: "Right now it's a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the US every day and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran."