A report that Chris Kennedy would announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate this week was premature, Kennedy told Capitol Fax's Rich Miller Tuesday.
Kennedy also said not to expect any update this week, as it was "physically impossible" for him to make any announcement until next week.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist MIchael Sneed reported last week that the son of Robert F. Kennedy was set to enter the race and that he had already hired AKPD Message and Media, the political consulting firm formerly run by President Obama senior advisor David Axelrod, to cut a campaign ad.
Kennedy is president of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., a property owner and management company.
On May 1, Kennedy told Crain's columnist Greg Hinz he had conducted polling about the race, but was not yet committed:
"I'm a ways from making up my mind," said Kennedy, who has thrown several head fakes in previous years about other political races. "It's really a personal decision."
A recent GOP poll obtained by the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet found Kennedy trailing State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and embattled incumbent Senator Roland Burris in a potential Democratic primary but was far closer in a general election matchup against GOP Rep. Mark Kirk.