Krist Novoselic: "I ain't runnin' for Lt Governor!" voters: "All hope is lost, then"

SEATTLE - Former grunge rocker Krist Novoselic has changed his mind and decided not to run for lieutenant governor but says he wants to remain active in politics.

Novoselic said he would keep working with Music for America to boost voter participation among young people and continue his efforts for election reform but concluded, "the whole thing about running a campaign and being a public servant isn't the way to do it."

Novoselic was the bass player and one of the founders of Nirvana, which broke up after the suicide of co-founder Kurt Cobain in 1994. Novoselic had some later musical projects but is now retired from performing and lives in southwest Washington state.

He initially supported Howard Dean (news - web sites) for president but will be a delegate for John Kerry (news - web sites) at the Wahkiakum County Democratic Party convention.

In November, Novoselic said he might run against Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, also a Democrat, who is considered likely to seek a third four-year term this year.

"I found out firsthand that it's really considered bad form to run against an incumbent of your own party," Novoselic said Thursday.

At the same time, he said he found nothing wrong with intra-party battles.

"I think every incumbent should be challenged," he said. "Competition serves democracy. Look at what it did to our presidential caucuses."