Rep. Carolyn McCarthy will not challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a Democratic primary.
McCarthy, a thorn in Gillibrand's side of late, had said she would take on the newly appointed senator in 2010 if no one else did.
But McCarthy has reversed course, citing personal issues.
"I'm not running," she said Thursday afternoon.
That further clears the field for Gillibrand, who has had difficulty coalescing her delegation around her bid. Some other New York lawmakers were rubbed the wrong way by her rapid ascent to the Senate, ordained by Gov. David A. Paterson when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton became secretary of State earlier this year.
McCarthy, in particular, has been harsh on Gillibrand, citing first and foremost Gillibrand's support for gun rights in a little bit more than one term in the House.
McCarthy's husband was shot and killed in 1993.
Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., dropped a planned bid last month at the request of President Obama.
New York Democrats said they expected Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney to announce a bid as early as Thursday. But she had not done so as of late afternoon.
Maloney said she spoke to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. by phone but declined to describe any details of that talk apart from saying he did not try to push her out.
"You don't make a decision of that magnitude" -- whether to vie to represent New York in the Senate -- "in a telephone conversation," she said.
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