After loss, Rep. Davis said he's done with politics

After losing his bid to become the first black governor of Alabama, Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) said he's done with politics.

"I have no interest in running for political office again," the four-term congressman told the Birmingham News. "The voters spoke in a very decisive way across every sector and in every section of the state. A candidate that fails across-the-board like that obviously needs to find something else productive to do with his life."

Davis lost his bid for the Democratic nomination Tuesday. He took 38 percent of the vote to Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks' 62 percent.

In running for governor he had to give up running for reelection to his House seat.

"When I ran for Congress, I never had the desire to be a career politician," he told the paper.

Davis said he planned to resume his career as a courtroom lawyer.

The News also has a breakdown of Davis' loss, noting that he not only lost majority-white districts but also predominantly black counties.

Glen Browder, a former congressman and professor at Jacksonville State University, told the News Davis gambled that, by voting no on healthcare reform and then refusing to court longtime black political organizations for their support, he would appeal to white voters.

"And it is so clear now that Davis' gamble failed miserably," Browder said.

Davis was the only black Democrat in Congress to vote no on healthcare reform.