CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Former U.S. Senate Candidate Paula Jean Swearengin has announced she is leaving the Democratic Party.

Swearengin said the reason behind her decision is she believes both the state and national levels of the party allegedly ignored issues such as racism and children suffering across Appalachia.

“Our system is broken. We can’t rebuild a two-party system with division & hate,” Swearengin said in a tweet.

According to her website, Swearengin is a native of Mullens, West Virginia, who grew up in a coal-mining family.

In June 2020, Swearengin won the Democratic vote in the primary election, beating out opponents Richard Ojeda and Richie Robb with 38.3% of the vote. She then lost the General Election in November to Incumbent U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R).

Swearengin previously ran in the 2018 primary election where she lost the Democratic race to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.

In her 2020 senatorial bid, she ran on a platform of working toward a more diverse economy in the Mountain State, working to end the opioid epidemic and making Medicare available to everyone, among other goals.

Swearengin says she is announcing the next steps in her political career soon.