ALABAMA (WHNT) — Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels announced Friday he will run for the newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District seat.

Daniels currently holds the seat for House District 53, which is a Huntsville-area representative. He was elected to the seat in 2014.

The announcement comes just over a month after a federal three-judge panel selected a new U.S. House map for Alabama to be used in the 2024 elections.

The court ordered that out of Alabama’s seven congressional districts, a second district should be drawn that included a majority or near-majority Black voting age population

Daniels released this statement with his announcement:

Growing up in South Alabama was an important foundation in shaping me for the man I have become. My family, faith and community all played a critical role. I want to ensure strong schools, safe communities, accessible and affordable healthcare, and good paying jobs are available here. We can no longer allow counties throughout the second district to have some of the highest poverty rates in the United States. Together we can change that statistic and it’s one of the reasons I am in this race.

Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels

Daniels is a graduate of Bullock County High School and an alum of Alabama A&M University, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education. Bullock County is part of the new congressional district.

In 2017, Daniels was selected as the House Minority Leader.