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Instead of challenging Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, for his seat, Henrico Sheriff Mike Wade has decided to run for Congress in the adjacent 4th District.

The newly configured 4th is now set to include Richmond and Petersburg.

“I’m going to run in the 4th instead of the 7th,” Wade, 60, said in an interview Wednesday.

“Opportunities like this don’t come up all time,” the Republican said. “Congress is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Wade said his interest in a congressional run is an extension of his desire to “do something about mental health and substance abuse,” adding that he also has ideas for reforms in the criminal justice and corrections system.

Wade had filed with the Federal Elections Commission to challenge Brat, the freshman congressman who took office last year after his historic 2014 upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a GOP primary.

But Wade said his efforts were complicated by uncertainty over congressional redistricting, as well as the possibility that Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, could enter the 7th District primary race in a reconfigured district.

“I never really officially announced because of Randy Forbes,” Wade said.