Ed O'Reilly, the Gloucester attorney who lost to John Kerry in last week's U.S. Senate Democratic primary, said Wednesday that he is definitely considering running for a political office again, though he isn't sure which one.

[img_assist|nid=667|title=Ed O'Reilly (D-Gloucester)|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=144|height=180]O'Reilly, who had never run for statewide political office before, lost to the Democratic senator by 38 points last Tuesday.

Asked if he is thinking of another run, O'Reilly said: "Absolutely. I'm keeping all my options open."

O'Reilly said he is pleased with last week's results since he faced a 24-year incumbent with a significantly larger war chest.

"We got nearly one third of the vote statewide so that's not a bad place to be sitting right now, considering I got outspent 10 to one and all of the members of the political status quo that came out against me," O'Reilly said.

Asked if he would consider running for Kerry's seat should the senator leave the post for a position in an Obama administration, O'Reilly replied quickly: "Yes."

"I'm still not convinced that Sen. Kerry wouldn't leave," he said.

O'Reilly said that his campaign this year has helped set-up him for a future run in two ways. First, he said, he helped boost his name recognition across the state. Second, he learned from the experience.

"I learned an awful lot," O'Reilly said. "I know a lot more than I did before and that really helps because I am staying in touch with people."

O'Reilly also said the statewide campaign framework that he established, and plans to maintain, would help him in the future.

"There are only so many people that have developed statewide organizations," he said.

O'Reilly referred to himself as "an outsider of the political system" and said that people want new leadership and change.

"In the end," he said, "I really feel like I was taking on the system itself."

Ultimately, O'Reilly said he is monitoring the political landscape to see if an opportunity arises.

"I'll have to see," he said. "I'm telling everyone that I'm keeping my options open."