Under pressure from the Democratic Party, Harold E. Ford Jr. announced Monday evening he had decided not to challenge New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand in this fall's U.S. Senate primary.

"I've examined this race in every possible way, and I keep returning to the same fundamental conclusion: If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary -- a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened," Ford wrote in an opinion article to be published in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times.

Though pollsters for Ford seemed convinced he stood a good chance at beating Gillibrand, the former Tennessee congressman had his share of detractors -- particularly among LGBT voters.

Ford said he remained convinced he could beat Gillibrand at the polls, but feared "the winner of the primary would have little money and remain highly vulnerable to a well-financed Republican challenger at a time when the Democratic Party controls the Senate by a slim majority."

Read Ford's New York Times op-ed here.