Wisconsin Democrat Feingold won't run in 2012

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Democrat Russ Feingold says he won't be a candidate for public office next year.

Feingold has taken himself out of the running for the U.S. Senate and a bid for governor should Democrats launch a recall against Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

The former U.S. senator sent an e-mail to supporters Friday which said he wanted to devote his time to teaching at Marquette Law School, leading the political committee he founded and finishing a book he's writing on the U.S. response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Feingold says he may seek elective office again someday, but not in 2012.

Some Democrats considered Feingold a leading candidate should Gov. Walker be recalled. Feingold was defeated in 2010 in his run for a fourth term in the Senate.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)