High-profile former Greens Senate candidate Simon Sheikh won't contest the 2016 federal election, ruling himself out after the party closed preselection nominations this month.
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Mr Sheikh, the former national director of the progressive political campaign group GetUp!, said he made the difficult decision not to challenge Liberal backbencher Zed Seselja a second time because of a new business and a growing family.
The founding director of superannuation fund Future Super, launched last year, Mr Sheikh is married to environmentalist and author Anna Rose.
The couple are expecting their first child within weeks.
After nearly edging out Mr Seselja at the 2013 election, Mr Sheikh said he could stand for federal Parliament in the future. He ruled out running for the ACT Legislative Assembly next year.
"I've had a long, hard thought process over whether or not to run for the Senate again," he said.
"Last time round we managed to get the Liberals in to 37 preference counts, which is certainly the closest it has ever been, and I am really confident that this time we will run a really strong Greens candidate.
"The preselection process is progressing really nicely but for me personally, wanting to be a really active father is important and since running for Parliament, my efforts have been around starting a new business."
Mr Sheikh won 19 per cent of the vote in 2013, finishing third on preferences behind former Labor minister Kate Lundy and Senator Seselja.
ACT Greens convenor Sophie Trevitt would not comment on how many Senate preselection nominations had been received. The process is being run alongside preselection for the expanded Legislative Assembly elections, due in October 2016.
The party will make announcements by November.
Mr Sheikh said floundering public support for the Abbott government placed the second ACT Senate seat well in play for the Greens. He praised party organisers and volunteers for maintaining a strong presence in Canberra, capitalising on disaffection with the major parties.
Electoral mathematics and Senator Seselja's "ultra conservative views" on issues including same-sex marriage would favour the Greens, Mr Sheikh said.
Senator Seselja publicly advocated for a constitutional referendum on marriage rights, leaving him at odds with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has backed a plebiscite.
Labor's Katy Gallagher will contest the election after joining the Senate this year.
"I haven't seen a group of politicians fail more than the current crop," Mr Sheikh said. "And that's a pretty sad thing to say because I typically don't like to just bag out politicians … but we are seeing politics becoming very sad and people are becoming very alienated from it.
"Personally this is not the time for me, although I still have a very strong interest in helping advocate for the people of Canberra in the future.
"The group of candidates who have put their names forward for the Greens make up a very strong team," he said. "As I analyse the names of people who have put their names forward, I am very impressed."
Former ACT Greens Assembly member Caroline Le Couteur would not comment on a possible tilt at returning to territory politics next year but confirmed she would not stand for the Senate because of her dual-citizenship.
Ms Le Couteur lost her Assembly seat in 2012.
