Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple won't seek a newly drawn state Senate seat in the Capital Region, he announced Wednesday in a post on Facebook.

The development leaves Republican state Assemblyman Jake Ashby and Democratic candidate Andrea Smythe in the race for the 43rd District. 

Apple, a Democrat, wrote he loves his job as the county sheriff. He will not make an endorsement in the race. 

"I never had aspirations for higher office, but with the support and encouragement I received from residents across the district I tried to convince myself this was the next step for me," Apple wrote in the post. "I hoped to be a voice for moderate voters who had felt they needed a stronger voice in New York. However after exploring this opportunity I’m drawn back to the goal I have always set for myself and my kids which is 'find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.'"

Apple rose to statewide prominence last year after his office filed a forcible touching charge against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a case stemming from a groping allegation leveled against him. Cuomo denied the allegation, and Albany County District Attorney David Soares moved to have the case dimissed citing a lack of evidence.