A southwestern Illinois sheriff recruited by the national Democratic Party to challenge a first-term Republican congressman has declined the offer.

St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson recently met with party leaders in Washington to discuss a possible candidacy in the 12th Congressional District, a U.S. House seat that had been in Democratic control since World War II before Rep. Mike Bost’s 2014 election.

The Belleville News-Democrat (bit.ly/1h8BRnI ) report that Watson cited his commitment to serving as sheriff in opting against a congressional campaign.

Belleville labor lawyer C.J. Baricevic (Bahr-SIH’-vick) is the first Democratic challenger to declare his candidacy in a district that covers 12 counties in the state’s southernmost reaches.

Bost is a former Marine and state lawmaker from Murphysboro who defeated U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart in 2014.