Raymond Lesniak

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak is pictured in the state Senate chambers in Trenton last June.

(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

TRENTON -- State Sen. Raymond Lesniak's on-again, off-again flirtation with running for governor in New Jersey appears to be on again.

Less than three months after saying he wouldn't launch a campaign, Lesniak, a 38-year veteran of the state Legislature, said Tuesday he is once again considering entering this year's crowded race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie.

The 70-year-old Union County Democrat said as early as July of 2015 that he would not seek re-election to the Senate and would instead run to replace Christie, a Republican in the last year of his second and final term.

But Lesniak said in October he was not entering the Democratic primary after all. In the weeks after that, he changed his mind a few times. Last month, he told Politico New Jersey he was mulling retirement.

Now, Lesniak said, he'll announce within the next few weeks his plans for 2017.

Lesniak, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 1978, is the second-longest serving member of the Legislature, after fellow state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex). He has served in the Senate since 1983.

Lesniak is a frequent Christie critic and a progressive standard-bearer in the Statehouse. He is also still leading the years-long fight to legalize sports betting in New Jersey.

Political experts say Democrats are favored to retake the governor's office in the wake of Christie, who has seen his record-low approval ratings dip into the teens. Phil Murphy, a former banking executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany, is considered the front-runner to win both the party's nomination and the general election.

Also running for the Democratic nod are retired firefighter and activist Bill Brennan, pharmaceutical sales rep Monica Brinson, former priest Bob Hoatson, former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson, newsletter publisher Lisa McCormick, Iraqi War veteran and banker Titus Pierce, and Assemblyman John Wisniewski. State Investment Council Chairman Tom Byrne is also considering a bid.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.