After considering a bid for Congress in the wake of Parker Griffith's party-switch, Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks told the Associated Press this morning that he will remain a candidate for governor. A formal announcement was due shortly in Huntsville.

Sparks told the Associated Press that he was more committed to running for governor than ever and that he was in the governor's race to stay.

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Some Democrats in Washington had urged Sparks to change races after 5th District Rep. Parker Griffith of Huntsville became a Republican last week. Sparks said he was honored by the interest, but feels he has made a commitment to the people of Alabama to run for governor.

Sparks would have given Democrats a strong candidate in that race now that Griffith is a Republican, though Sparks would have had to move to run there. He is not alone in running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, however, and the campaign of one of his rivals, Rep. Artur Davis (D), took aim at Sparks for flirting with the Congressional race:

"While Artur Davis is focused on a bold new agenda for our state, Ron Sparks has spent the last week trying to get permission from his political bosses in Montgomery to see if they would let him run for Congress in a district he does not even live in. This is the same Ron Sparks who said just a few weeks ago that he wishes he could run for Agricultural Commissioner again; the same Ron Sparks who was set to run for Lieutenant Governor until the special interests in Montgomery told him they had some other plans for him."