MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Montgomery County Circuit Judge Charles Price says he won’t run for governor.

Some leaders of the black wing of the state Democratic Party, the Alabama Democratic Conference, had been encouraging Price to enter next year’s Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Artur Davis and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks. Price said Monday he appreciated the encouragement and gave the contest serious thought.

But he said he’s been a judge 26 years and that’s what he wants to continue to do.

Price is one of Alabama’s best known judges. He received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 1997, and Montgomery County’s courthouse was recently named in his honor. State law would have required Price to resign his judgeship if he had entered the governor’s race.