Colorado state Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, recently a Democratic candidate for U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s Congressional seat, instead will run for state senate, she announced Wednesday.

“I am stepping up to run for the state Senate for the same reason I first ran five years ago – to ensure other Coloradans have the same opportunities I did to make a better life,” Pettersen said Wednesday in a fundraising email.

Pettersen, a Colorado native and chair of the state’s House Education Committee, announced in April her bid to replace Perlmutter in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District – just a half hour after Perlmutter announced his campaign for governor.

She suspended her campaign in August after Perlmutter’s announcement that he would indeed run for re-election to Congress. Pettersen had raised more than $170,000 in her first fundraising period and had received a coveted endorsement from EMILY’s List, a national group that backs Democratic women candidates.

She will run for the Senate District 22 seat held by Andy Kerr, who is term-limited. Kerr also was in the Congressional District 7 race until Perlmutter decided to seek re-election. State Sen. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City also dropped out of congressional race to make way for Perlmutter.