Jeff Beatty, the Massachusetts GOP's nominee for U.S. Senate this year, said Monday that he is currently not seeking the chairmanship of the party, but wouldn't shut the door on any future possibilities.

"I am not pursuing it," Beatty told PolitickerMA.com. "I have had people ask me to consider it, but tomorrow will be two weeks since the election and I said I wouldn't consider anything for a couple weeks."

Beatty lost to U.S. Sen. John Kerry by 35 percentage points this year. Since the loss, his name has surfaced in some Republican circles as a possible candidate for the chairmanship following current chair Peter Torkildsen's decision not to seek re-election.

Beatty would not, however, rule out the possibility when asked if he had shut the door on a run.

"I wouldn't close any doors on any public service position," he said. "But neither am I pursuing it."

The Massachusetts Republican State Committee will elect its next chairman in January, according to party officials. That would, in theory, give Beatty time to reconsider. Currently, only State Committeewoman Jennifer Nassour has declared her candidacy for the post .

While he didn't say he would run for the post, Beatty was quick to criticize the state party.

"Certainly the Massachusetts GOP needs new leadership and a new direction," he said. "It can't continue to abandon races in Massachusetts, which it did this year."

The Republican also said that the GOP should focus on grassroots organizing and pointed to his campaign as an example. Beatty said he was proud that he received nearly 29,000 more votes than former Gov. Mitt Romney received during his 1994 Senate run against U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy. Those results, he said, were a "strong first [statewide] showing" considering he received "no support from the Massachusetts GOP."

The Massachusetts Republican Party declined to comment for this story.