Republican Sen. David Vitter will run for governor of Louisiana, he announced Tuesday.
Louisiana’s current governor, Bobby Jindal, is term-limited, and cannot run for re-election. The election will be held in 2015.
“This decision will in no way limit the critical work I’m doing today in the U.S. Senate: representing you and your family will continue to be my top priority,” Vitter said in a video announcing his candidacy. “But I believe that as our next governor I can have a bigger impact addressing the unique challenges and opportunities we face in Louisiana.”
Vitter said he would push for education and economic improvements, as well as “fighting political corruption and demanding government reform and accountability.”
He said if he was elected to governor, it would be his “last political job, elected or appointed, period.”
“I’m running to take on the important issues and make the hard decisions, not to avoid them or play politics with them,” he said.