Former Republican state Rep. Ron Erhardt, of Edina, will run for his old seat as a Democrat, he said Tuesday.

In 2008, Erhardt, one of six Republicans who voted to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's gas tax veto, was not endorsed by his party and ran as an independent in a three-way race.

State Rep. Keith Downey, the Republican-endorsed candidate, won the race with 36.9 percent of the vote. Erhardt and DFL candidate Kevin Staunton neatly split the rest -- Erhardt got 31.9 percent, Staunton got 31.35 percent.

Now Erhardt, who was first elected to the legislature in 1990, is running again -- as a DFLer.

He'll face a contested endorsement fight with in his new party as well. Staunton has been running for the seat since September.

Erhardt told local DFLers of his plans last week at a meeting and over the weekend, through a letter. He said the reaction so far has been pretty quiet.

He said he hasn't decided whether to drop out of the race if he fails to win DFL endorsement.