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U.S. Rep. Brad Miller says that he will not run for governor. Miller was one of several Democrats whose names came up when Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, decided not to run for a second term.

Miller would have been a favorite of the progressive / left wing of the party. But he said in a written statement that he wants to keep working on problems related to the financial services industry and that the governor's mansion would not be the place to do that.

Miller's old district ran from Raleigh, up along the Virginia border and into Greensboro. He has served five terms in office, but decided not to run for re-election because it would have meant a primary showdown with fellow Democrat David Price (background link).

His full statement :

After much consideration, I have decided not to run for Governor.

As a former state legislator and a citizen, I care deeply about the issues that North Carolina faces as a state.

My mother struggled as a widowed bookkeeper to make sure I had the opportunity for an education that was denied her and my father. We need a Governor who will fight the efforts of Republicans in the legislature to close those doors of opportunity by their assault on public education.

But the issues I have worked on in Congress for a decade are the injustice and dysfunction in our nation’s economy. The financial crisis was not the result of a “perfect storm” of unforeseeable economic events, but of blameworthy conduct, of what Franklin Roosevelt called “heedless greed,” for which there has been too little accountability.

Although my term in Congress expires at the end of the year, I believe I will have other opportunities to continue work on those issues.

I have been an energetic and determined candidate in the past. Although my determination to hold elective office appears now to be in remission, I may seek elective office again. And I will certainly support other energetic and determined candidates for office.