By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com (AP Photo | Andrew Harnik)

ALABAMA — U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) has "no current plans" to run for the Alabama's newly open Senate seat in 2022.

On Tuesday, longtime U.S. Senator Richard Shelby announced that he would not seek a seventh term in the upper chamber, spuring talk of who might replace him.

"I take being dean of the Alabama House delegation seriously and I am honored to serve in that role," said Aderholt, whose district represents all of DeKalb County. "To the question of running for the open Senate seat, I have learned never to say never, but at this time, my holding a senior role on the House Appropriations committee serves Alabama well. I am perfectly content serving Alabama through my current work in the House and I don’t have any current plans to run for an open Senate seat."

Aderholt has represented the fourth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representative since 1997.