Below is Massachusetts GOP Chairman Peter Torkildsen's statement on why he is not seeking re-election:

Today, I informed members of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee that I will not be a candidate for re-election in January when my term as chairman concludes. I greatly appreciate the many members of the State Committee who called during the past week to let me know of their support for my running again.  After thinking about it for the past week, I decided I could not commit to serving for the full two year term, and therefore it would be best to announce my intentions early, and allow others considering a candidacy to step forward.

During the past two years, we did accomplish some significant steps.  First, every Republican last week was re-elected.  Second, during the past two years, we raised over $1.5 million, even though this was the first cycle in 16 years where we did not have the benefit of the Governor's office being occupied by a Republican.  And third, we conducted over 50 campaign schools, where we taught candidates and their volunteers the basics of running a campaign, raising money, using technology, and conducting voter identification and Election Day operations.

I am optimistic that our Party will regain the Governor's office and increase seats in the legislature in 2010, as long as we put recriminations behind us, and recruit, train and support our best possible candidates. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve, and I look forward to continuing to work to build two-party competition in Massachusetts.