Vermonts sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Peter Welch , announced Monday that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy .

Welchs decision comes a week after the 81-year-old Leahys announcement that he will not seek reelection to the seat he first won in 1974.

The 74-year-old Welch said the 2022 election will determine control of the Senate and, with it, what he can accomplish for Vermont families.

We are at a pivotal moment, Welch said in a statement distributed by his campaign. Vermont families are struggling through multiple crises: a global pandemic, the consequences of climate change, and a racial reckoning generations in the making.

He said that if elected he would be ready to fight for progressive change from the first day in office.

He promised to continue to fight to ensure working families have access to child care and paid family leave . He said he also would work to pass a Green New Deal to protect the environment, lower the cost of health care and prescription drug costs , ensure that women have control over their own health care decisions and protect voting rights and American democracy.

The decisions by Leahy and now Welch will create the first open seats in Vermonts three-member congressional delegation since 2006, when independent Bernie Sanders moved to the Senate and Welch took his seat in the House.

While the Senate seat will be open, Welch, who during his years in the House has been consistently one of Vermonts top vote-getters, would have an instant advantage.

Vermonts popular Republican governor, Phil Scott , has said he is not interested in running for the Senate. Its unclear whom the state GOP will find to run for either the Senate seat or the House seat.