The House budget chairman who was the mastermind behind the Republicans' solution to this year's budget crisis said he would prefer to stay in the House in order to have a bigger hand in economic policy.

The Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal reported:

"It's my ability to impact policy. It would take me, you know, 12 to 16 years in the Senate to get where I am in the House. I don't want to be in Congress for the rest of my life," said Ryan in an interview.

"I don't want to take myself out of this fight, and leave the fight and a leadership role I have at the moment America is going to make up its mind about what kind of country it's going to become," he said.

Ryan said he made a quick decision because he was leaning against a run from the beginning and he didn't want to slow the Republican field.

"I wanted to make my announcement quickly. My mind was always in this place to begin with. I don't want to dwell on the decision for long and freeze the field," Ryan said.

Some members of the GOP have expressed disappointment in Ryan's decision because they think he's the best chance the Republicans have to steal a seat in the Senate.

From USA Today:

Ryan is a top GOP proponent of cutting federal spending and reducing debt, and has gained attention for his controversial plan to revamp Medicare into a voucher program for seniors.

The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, made the case that Ryan shouldn't waste his time with a Senate campaign and that he should take his ideas to a larger stage and challenge President Obama next year.

"Our nation's problems are too big, and our window of opportunity is too small. We need him to run — and not for the Senate. Ryan is too gifted, and this is his time. Duty calls," The Weekly Standard said.

But some Republican insiders said running for the open Senate seat may have been too high a risk for Ryan, considering his position in the House.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza explained:

Another argument put forward as to why Ryan so quickly took a pass on the Senate is that he has a potential path to the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee within the next four years. Michigan Rep. Dave Camp (R) will be term-limited out of the post at the start of 2015 and Ryan, while he is the fourth ranking Republican on the committee, is widely regarded inside the GOP conference as a favorite to ascend to the job.

GOP insiders say that Ryan has long dreamed about chairing Ways and Means — the tax writing committee in Congress — and the prospect of doing so was too appealing to pass up even for a Senate bid . Of course, there’s no guarantee that a) Republicans will still be in the House majority in 2015 or b) that Ryan will still be the golden boy who can leap the seniority chain when that time comes.

Kohl's announcement that he would not seek a fifth term leaves the first vacancy in one of the state's Senate seats in 24 years. With the democrats' Senate majority slowly dwindling, the race for the empty seat may be the race to watch in 2012.

Now many say former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Tommy Thompson, who was elected to an unprecedented four terms as Wisconsin's governor and was secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush, has told Republican Party officials that he would run if Ryan did not.

Thompson has long sought a return to elected office, even briefly running for president in 2008. The Wisconsin Democratic Party took a preemptive shot at his possible Senate candidacy.

"Thompson has been too busy taking lobbying cash from Big Oil and Wall Street to stand up to the divisive, anti-Wisconsin agenda of Paul Ryan and Scott Walker," state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said in a statement.

No potential Democratic candidates have made any indication whether or not they intend to run.

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