Updated 5:41 p.m. ET, 1/21/2014
(CNN) - Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana announced Tuesday that he's running for governor of his state in 2015.
"I believe that as our next governor, I can have a bigger impact addressing the unique challenges and opportunities we face in Louisiana," the two-term Republican lawmaker said in a video release by his campaign.
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Two-term governor and potential 2016 White House hopeful Bobby Jindal is term-limited.
Vitter said his decision won't affect his Senate work.
"I've held 342 in person town halls, 128 telephone town halls, and countless other meetings in every parish of our state. I'll continue those travels, listening directly to Louisiana families, about what most concerns them. And then after listening and learning, I will lead," he said.
He also said "this will be my last political job, elected or appointed, period."
Jindal said at an event Thursday that he has enjoyed working with Vitter on education reform and appreciates the senator's "steadfast opposition" to Obamacare, but the current governor is not prepared to throw his support behind any candidate anytime soon.
"It's far too early for me to be making an endorsement or to be thinking about making an endorsement for him, or for any other candidate," Jindal said.
Vitter said late last year, in an e-mail to supporters, that he was considering a gubernatorial bid.
He now joins another Republican, Lt. Gov. Jay Darndenne, in the race for the GOP nomination. Another Republican, Louisiana state Treasurer John Kennedy, is considering a bid.
Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards has also launched a campaign. And New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, another Democrat, is also mulling a candidacy.
Following Vitter's announcement, the Louisiana Democratic Party blasted the senator for "shutdown-style politics that Republicans have perfected in D.C."
"We welcome the senator to the race and wish him well as he attempts to persuade Louisiana voters to give him a promotion - despite his record of ineptitude and obstruction," Chairwoman Karen Carter Peterson said in a statement.
Vitter has rebounded politically from scandal around past allegations he solicited prostitutes. He was linked to the so-called "D.C. Madam" scandal in 2007, but easily won reelection in 2010.
Vitter served in the U.S. House from 1999 to 2005, before winning election to the Senate.