It’s official. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has decided against jumping into the race for the U.S. Senate. Last week, Carolina Journal was first to report that Robinson was considering a run. In a statement posted on social media, Robinson wrote that, after taking ‘an earnest look at the seat’ and considering a variety of factors, he decide to stay put in his current role.

In the statement, which you can read in full below, Robinson looks to the future of our state, writing: “Our state deserves real leadership, and right now there is a vacuum left by a do-nothing governor.”

Read Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s full statement below.