State Sen. Andy Kerr, a Lakewood Democrat, announced Thursday that Shad Murib, the former chief of staff of the Colorado Senate Democrats, will be managing his campaign in the 7th Congressional District.

Kerr is one of four Democrats running in the suburban district represented by six-term U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, an Arvada Democrat. Perlmutter declined to seek reelection and instead was running for governor in next year’s election but withdrew from that race last month.

“Andy Kerr has never backed down from a fight,” Murib said in a statement. “Sending him to Congress is the clearest way to send a message to political insiders that we need Colorado common sense in Washington, D.C. Andy’s a leader in the Capitol who fights for – and wins on – progressive values.”

Murib ran the Senate Democrats’ operation for the past two years and was the caucus’ civic engagement director before that. He managed state Sen. Kerry Donovan’s successful campaign in 2014 and worked as a legislative assistant for several years for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis in his Washington office.

“From day one, our campaign has been about our community,” Kerr said in a statement. “That’s why I’m so excited that Shad is joining our team. His Colorado roots run deep, and he’s cultivated an unparalleled reputation for thoughtful, responsive leadership that turns community needs into meaningful political action.”

The other Democrats running for the seat include state Sen. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City, state Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, and Dan Baer, a former U.S. ambassador for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in the Obama administration. No Republicans have yet declared they’re running for the seat vacated by Ed Perlmutter, who announced a run for governor in April before deciding not to run last month.

Perlmutter won by 14 percentage points over Republican George Athanasopoulos last November and by 10 points over former Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman Don Ytterberg in 2014.

Editor’s note: Murib’s name was corrected in the fourth paragraph.