Attorney Keidra Burrell of Pine Bluff announced on Wednesday that she is running next year for the Democratic nomination for the state Senate seat held by El Dorado Republican Trent Garner.
Burrell, who also owns two child development facilities, is the second Democratic candidate to announce a bid for the Senate District 27 seat. The district includes all of Calhoun and Union counties and parts of Cleveland, Grant, Jefferson and Ouachita counties.
In mid-July, former Rep. Garry Smith, D-Camden, announced his plans to run for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.
Smith, who served in the House from 2009-2013, lost in the 2012 Democratic primary in Senate District 27 to then-Rep. Bobby Pierce, D-Sheridan.
Pierce was then elected to the Senate in the 2012 general election. But in the 2016 general election, Garner ousted Pierce.
Burrell said in a news release that she is committed to improving education, investing in youth, economic development and healthcare.
She is a former chief of staff and assistant to the mayor of Pine Bluff and served as chief legal counsel for the northwest region of the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality in Shreveport.
The party filing period will be from noon on Nov. 4 until noon on Nov. 12. Next year’s primary election will be March 3 and the general election will be Nov. 3.