Former Massachusetts state Sen. Richard Tisei, a Republican, said he would not be a candidate in the special election for Senate in a statement late Saturday night.

“I believe it’s imperative that the Republican party put forward a strong candidate who can help bring much-needed change to Washington. Unfortunately, the timing is simply not right for me to do so — deeply as I feel about the need to strongly compete in this election,” he said. “It was also my desire to make this decision as quickly as possible so that other potential candidates would be able to consider whether they should run.”

Former Sen. Scott Brown’s decision Friday not to run for the open seat previously held by now-Secretary of State John Kerry left the GOP with few potential candidates who could seriously contest the seat.

With Tisei out, there are fewer. He had the capability to raise significant sums of money — he pulled in more than $2.3 million in a hard-fought race against Massachusetts Democratic Rep. John F. Tierney during the 2012 cycle. And Tisei, an openly gay, pro-abortion rights Republican, had a moderate profile that could have played well in a general election.

Democratic Reps. Edward J. Markey and Stephen F. Lynch are the only declared candidates for the special election so far.

Roll Call rates the race as Likely Democratic.