WASHINGTON -- Former Alabama Democratic Rep. Artur Davis wants to mount a political comeback as a Republican in his newly adopted state of Virginia, but acknowledges that an unwillingness to speak the language of the party’s unyielding base is keeping him on the sidelines for now.

“As to how to stay involved, I'll be very blunt,” Davis said recently. “I knew exactly what I needed to say after 2010 to rebuild a career in Democratic politics. I also knew exactly what I needed to say to become a Republican superstar in 2013. But in neither case was I willing to say and spout the things that would make smart party politics.”

Davis -- who left Alabama, Congress and the Democratic Party after a unsuccessful bid for governor in 2010 -- can count the GOP leadership as fans in in Virginia, where he now lives. But the political transplant from Birmingham has learned that support from party leaders alone does not guarantee a political comeback.

Behind the scenes over the last year, Davis had plotted his political redemption with plans to run for Virginia’s 10th congressional district seat. Shortly before Christmas, the pieces began to fall into place: Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf announced his retirement from the seat and Davis’ name was being mentioned as a possible GOP candidate to replace him.

But last week, Davis announced his decision not to launch a campaign after all.

Davis, 46, explained that his “plan and ambition was to run for Frank Wolf’s seat if he retired.” But Davis determined that it would be difficult to win a “partisan nomination” today while staying true to himself and running a “campaign focused on building common ground.”

“I know that elected office is the best way to regain a voice on the issues I care about,” Davis told AL.com after he announced his decision, “but I also have to remind people that I didn't get involved in politics to win nominations, but to win elections. And if I win, I want to be able to be the kind of leader I would like to vote for.”

Keeping his options open

Davis, who lives in northern Virginia outside Washington, says he does not know what office he might seek one day. “Time will tell whether there is an opportunity to run the kind of race that would allow me to be the kind of leader I would want to be,” he said. “When that will happen, or where, is beyond my crystal ball.”

Davis' political transformation over the last decade is stunning for someone who gave a rousing speech in support of Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Elected to Congress in 2002 as as a Democrat, the Harvard-educated lawyer from Birmingham ran as a Democrat in 2010, hoping to become the state’s first black governor. But he angered the liberal wing of the party by voting against Obama’s healthcare overhaul. He lost his party’s primary to Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who went on to lose to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.

Then U.S. Rep. Artur Davis concedes the Alabama Democratic gubernatorial race to Ron Sparks during a speech at the Harbert Center in Birmingham, Ala., Tues. June 1, 2010. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News - Mark Almond)

Disaffected with the Democrats and no longer in Congress, Davis later moved to Virginia and switched parties.

Since then, he has been making moves that indicate he wants a future in the GOP: Davis gave a prime-time speech in support of 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention, referencing his past support of Obama and saying "America is a land of second chances." Earlier this year, he wooed conservatives with a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Asked about his future, Davis says he has “no imminent political plans.”

He dismissed the idea that he could challenge Democratic incumbent Mark Warner for the U.S. Senate in Virginia in 2014. “I am absolutely not interested,” Davis said.

Asked if he is open to moving back to Alabama to get involved in politics again, Davis replied, “I enjoy living in Virginia.”

Challenges running in Virginia

Earlier this year, Davis commissioned a poll that led him to believe he would be competitive if he ran for Wolf’s House seat in Virginia.

Larry Sabato, the longtime Virginia politics professor at the University of Virginia, said Davis should be taken seriously as a potential Republican candidate in the commonwealth.

“The leadership of the Virginia GOP was very pleased when Davis became a Republican and he expressed interest in running,” Sabato said. “Davis is a headline-making convert, and it sure didn't hurt that he is African-American. I would never rule him out of any contest he entered in Virginia.”

But aside from the potentially problematic fact that Davis once represented another state in Congress, Sabato listed several other issues that could get in the way of a Davis comeback. While the Virginia GOP leadership adores Davis, Sabato said, they do not “control much and they certainly cannot impose nominees on the base.”

The base is very conservative and would likely be suspicious of him, Sabato said. “Davis is a former Democratic congressman, so naturally he has loads of liberal votes on his record that would be poison in a GOP convention or primary -- or at least his opponents would remind the base of those liberal votes."

Sabato also noted that the Virginia GOP already “has a packed bench” of rising stars that Davis will have to compete with.

“It controls 8 of 11 U.S. House seats, two-thirds of the lower house of the legislature, and half the upper house,” he said of the state Republican Party. “There are plenty of potential candidates for any electoral prize. The party isn't desperate for saviors to come riding over the hill.”

Davis’ brand of Republicanism

While Davis laments that the “national political climate is too polarized and ideological,” the former Democrat said he is still committed to the GOP.

“I'll take Chris Christie or Jeb Bush over the Democratic options in 2016 any day, and beyond the personalities, my views on contemporary issues line up better with the Republican Party,” he said. “But I will continue to be a Republican who pushes for the party to be constructive and thoughtful, and to tackle themes like upward mobility and middle class security.”

Davis, a lawyer and fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, said he is most concerned about two political issues today. “The first is education: Too many of our schools are promoting kids to the next grade without even teaching them to read or write; every major developed economy is killing us in math and science scores; and the quality of an education turns on where children live and how many degrees their parents have,” Davis said.

The other is the economy. “We aren't rewarding work enough in our economy,” he said. “Too many hardworking people still can't make enough to take care of their families.”

He openly criticizes both parties.

“Democrats think the answer is building a bigger bureaucracy or making it harder to run a business; too many Republicans act is if the problem doesn't exist or that you are pandering if you talk about it,” Davis said.

Reporter Alex Pappas is an Alabama native who works in Washington, D.C., and writes for AL.com.