BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Former Congressman TJ Cox (D-Fresno) announced Monday the launch of a new political action committee (PAC) to raise funds and resources to register voters in the Central Valley.

Cox, who represented the 21st Congressional District from 2019-2021, is transitioning his old PAC known as “TJ Cox for Congress” into a new one called the “Rising Electorate PAC.” During an interview with 17 News, he said he hopes the campaign will reach younger voters, single women, and communities of color.

“Our goal and our mission is to organize, to coordinate, and to directly fund voter registration efforts,” he said.

“If you look at Kings, Tulare, and Kern County — that is a population of 1.5 million people — there are only 25,000 more Republicans than Democrats. We intend to register two times, three times that many so that when the midterms come around, we’re more than prepared to take back not only my seat, but the Devin Nunes seat and the Kevin McCarthy seat as well,” Cox continued.

In the 2018 race for the 21st congressional district, Cox defeated then-incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao by 862 votes, but Cox lost in a 2020 rematch by just over 1,500 votes.

Initially, some reports circulating through the valley stated that the recent transition of PACs indicated Cox has decided against a run for office in 2022, but he said such reports were not accurate. While cox is not officially saying yes or no on a future run, he did say reports about him deciding against a future run are false.

“I’m very excited to lead this organization to do large scale voter registration throughout the valley, and I look forward to making a difference as the head of this organization or as a candidate in the months to come.”

National Republican Congressional Committee Press Secretary Torunn Sinclair released the following statement in response to the PAC:

“Just six months ago, a record 170,000 central valley voters turned out and rejected TJ Cox’s corruption and self-dealing. Cox’s latest pivot from failed candidate to Scam PAC will be another failure in his long line of shady financial schemes.”

Cox said he will not make a final decision on running until after Congressional boundaries are redrawn in the fall.