Cedes the field to Toomey, it looks like:

“After careful consideration and many conversations with friends and family and the leadership of my party, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Senate,” Ridge said in a statement, adding later, “The 2010 race has significant implications for my party, and that required thoughtful reflection. All of the above made my decision a difficult and deeply personal conclusion to reach. … To those who believe that the Republican Party is facing challenges; they are right. To those who believe the Democratic Party is without its own difficulties, they are wrong. No one party has a monopoly on all of the answers. … And so my desire and intention is to help my party craft solutions that both sides of the aisle can embrace.”

This is a blow to Republicans who were hoping to recruit a candidate with the ability to defeat Arlen Specter, who defected to the Democratic Party. Recent polls, in fact, showed Ridge leading both Republican Pat Toomey in a GOP primary and Specter in a head-to-head general-election match up.