Topeka ? Gov. Mark Parkinson isn’t planning to run for the U.S. Senate.

Parkinson, formerly the lieutenant governor of Kansas, was elevated to governor on April 28 when Kathleen Sebelius resigned to become U.S. secretary of health and human services. Parkinson is a former Kansas Republican Party chairman who switched parties to run on Sebelius’ ticket in 2006.

He announced in January that he wouldn’t run for governor in 2010, and he repeated that statement both before and after he took over the office.

He has said he looks forward to returning to private business. But such statements haven’t squelched speculation that he would run for the Senate.

But he told reporters Monday: “I’m not running for the U.S. Senate.”