U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, said Wednesday that he plans to run for a 13th term next year.
“Absolutely,” Bishop told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked whether he plans to run again next year.
“I look forward to continuing to represent the 2nd Congressional District and I’m thoroughly convinced that I can do what needs to be done,” Bishop said. “And the folks in southwest Georgia need a voice to articulate their aims and aspirations and their needs and concerns, and they have entrusted me with that authority and that public trust.”
Bishop is the second Georgia Democratic stalwart to say recently that he will seek re-election, following U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta.
The 2nd District is the closest thing Georgia has to a swing congressional seat at this point, judging by partisan voting records, but Bishop won with 59 percent of the vote last year and is not seen as being in electoral danger. He was first elected to Congress in 1992 and now is one of the top Democrats on the Appropriations Committee.
Bishop was treated for throat cancer two years ago, but he said Wednesday that he has been cancer-free since November 2013.
“All of my follow-up exams have been excellent,” he said, “and I feel great.”
