Artur Davis: I'd run as a Republican - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Former Alabama Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis says that if he were to run for office again, it would be as a Republican. The former congressman issued a response via his website Tuesday to what he called political rumors. He also addressed his reasons for identifying with the Republican party, a move he called "no light decision".

Davis, who moved to Virginia in December of 2010 following a loss to become the Democratic nominee for governor of Alabama, said "I don't know and am nowhere near deciding" on a run at any particular office.

Davis' name has been mentioned, and he says he's been urged by friends, to weigh the prospect of running for a seat in Virginia's congressional delegation or state legislature. A run in Virginia would be difficult, Davis admitted, "especially in a community to which I have no long-standing ties."

"Cutting ties with an Alabama Democratic Party that has weakened and lost faith with more and more Alabamians every year is one thing;" Davis wrote. "Leaving a national party that has been the home for my political values for two decades is quite another."

Business taxes, the healthcare legislation, immigration reform and the handling of "group grievances" are among major points of criticism Davis says he has with the Democratic party and the Obama administration.

Davis said if he ever decides to run for another office, he'll trust voters "to test ability more than rigid ideology." 

Davis served four terms as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Alabama's 7th Congressional District. He gained just 38 percent of the vote in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary after losing the support of several predominantly black groups upon voting against President Obama's healthcare legislation.

After losing the nomination, Davis said he had no interest in running for office again and was planning a return to the practice of law.

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