Former Rep. Artur Davis (R-VA) won’t run for outgoing Rep. Frank Wolf’s (R-VA) congressional seat.
Davis, a former Democrat who switched to the GOP, had previously said he planned to run for Wolf’s seat. But Davis announced Monday, a few days after Wolf announced that he would not run for reelection, that he would not be running for the outgoing congressman’s seat
“In making this decision, I have decided to focus on the reasons I entered politics 15 years ago: to bring communities together and to be a constructive voice on issues like education and poverty,” Davis said in a statement according to Gannett’s Washington Bureau. Davis concludes the statement saying that he would “relish” a chance to serve in office again.
“Frankly, I would relish an opportunity to lead on the issues I care most about, whether as a public servant or as a citizen,” Davis continued. “That time and place, however, is not Virginia’s 10th District congressional race.”
Read the full statement below:
People in politics aren’t known for candor about their goals, but I will be direct here: a year ago, my plan and ambition was to run for Frank Wolf’s seat if he retired. But a year is a long time to reflect.
In making this decision, I have decided to focus on the reasons I entered politics 15 years ago: to bring communities together and to be a constructive voice on issues like education and poverty. Joining the Republican Party, by the way, has not shaken those values: it has only reminded me of how important it is to awaken them in my new party. How dare we shortchange Ronald Reagan’s vision of a shining city on a hill where we bore one another’s burdens and Jack Kemp’s passion about an opportunity based society?
But campaigns can’t be about wishful thinking. I know full well that the national political climate is too polarized and ideological to make Congress the forum to achieve the values that drew me into politics in the first place. I also know that in the current environment, the process of competing for a partisan nomination wouldn’t exactly allow me to run a campaign focused on building common ground.
Frankly, I would relish an opportunity to lead on the issues I care most about, whether as a public servant or as a citizen. That time and place, however, is not Virginia’s 10th District congressional race.
