Ben Affleck mum on Senate run

Actor Ben Affleck is refusing to comment on reports that he’s being touted as a possible senatorial candidate in Massachusetts.

In Washington to raise awareness about the violence plaguing Congo, Affleck was also scheduled to meet Wednesday with other lawmakers, including Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is widely believed to be replacing Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, which would open a special election for a Senate seat in Massachusetts.

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“That’s not what I’m here to talk about,” Affleck told POLITICO. “I’m here to talk about what role we can play in making the Eastern Congo a better place.”

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that he was being touted as a potential candidate for Senate in Massachusetts. Affleck campaigned for Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in her race against freshman Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in November. There is also speculation that Brown would be interested in running again.

Another potential candidate on the Dems’ side? Ted Kennedy Jr., the late senator’s son. His adviser told POLITICO this morning if Kerry’s seat opens up, Kennedy would give “very serious consideration” to running.

Kerry spokesman Alec Gerlach declined to comment on Affleck’s political rumors. But Gerlach confirmed that Affleck would meet with Kerry and other members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which Kerry is chairman.

“I’m at home,” Affleck, a Cambridge native, quipped with a smile to a handful of photographers flashing cameras in his face as he took his seat inside the Rayburn House Office Building.

Affleck’s most recent film, “Argo,” about a CIA plot to rescue Americans trapped in Tehran in 1979, had him making the political rounds this fall, including appearances on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he said he wasn’t looking to politicize the film.

During his testimony, he joked about his political ideology after a reference was made to the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“The Heritage Foundation never offered me membership,” he joked. “I guess it’s fitting that I’m on the far left of the panel.”

Affleck testified that he will make his 10th visit to Congo within the next year. He said helping Congo does not necessarily mean increased aid, but he called on the government to bring global leaders together to address the conflict in Eastern Congo during his testimony Wednesday before members of Congress.

Affleck — who founded the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010 — told members about the estimated 5 million deaths Congo has seen in the past 14 years and terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda that have sought to use the region as a safe haven.

“From the outset, let me say that I am not here to ask for precious American tax dollars. I am here today to respectfully request you use the most important power you have, your collective voice as representatives of the United States of America,” Affleck testified.

He urged President Barack Obama to bring world leaders together to address instability in the region.

“Resolving the cycle of violence does not necessarily require a significant new financial investment by the United States or U.S. boots on the ground. It does, however, require American political leadership — moral leadership even — to bring the parties together to address the larger sources of instability in the region,” Affleck said.

He continued: “I may be naive, but I believe that our actions in foreign policy represent our values as a country — they represent who we are as a people. Soon I will be making my 10th trip to Congo, and I know that if your constituents were to go to Congo and see what is happening there, they would insist we do something about it.”