U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) announced Wednesday that she will not seek Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat in the 2022 midterm election.
“After careful consideration and consultation with my family and closest advisors, I have decided that the unfinished business of my home district, Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, is far too important for me to seek higher office at this time,” Sewell said in a statement.
Sewell noted that she had been “humbled by the overwhelming requests I have received to run for Senator Shelby’s seat in 2022.”
Alabama’s lone Democrat in Congress had previously stoked speculation that she may run during a February appearance on MSNBC and indicated she was still considering a Senate campaign in another appearance in early March.
Some Alabama political insiders had speculated in recent months that Sewell was thinking of giving up her House seat, which Wednesday’s statement appears to dispel in addition to the Senate rumors.
Sewell’s federal campaign account had $2,243,480.25 cash on hand on December 31, 2020, the last time reports were required to be filed with the FEC.
The Selma native promised on Wednesday to “throw my full weight behind the Democrat candidate [for Senate] who emerges as the strongest advocate” for the issues she cares most about.
The race to replace the retiring Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has already gained two high-profile Republican candidates in U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and former Trump administration ambassador Lynda Blanchard.
Two other GOP candidates, Secretary of State John Merrill and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama Katie Britt, are both widely speculated to enter the race in the coming months. Britt is a former chief of staff to Shelby.
There is no consensus among observers on who the Democratic Party will nominate for the seat. Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) told WHNT on Monday he has no plans to run for office again.
Election forecasting experts have rated Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat as safely Republican.
“I remain committed to representing all Alabamians in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Sewell stated on Wednesday.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
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