UPDATED: Newton's Robinson Leaving Senate Race to Run for Congress

Updated 4:30 p.m. with commits from Herb Robinson.

Just days after State Representative for U.S. Senate, Newton Democrat Herb Robinson said today he will be doing the same. 

In a phone conversation with Newton Patch this afternoon, Robinson said he has decided to leave the Senate race and shift his efforts to running for Congress in the Fourth District.

The Fourth District is up for grabs in the next election cycle, as Newton Congressman . 

"Running for [the Fourth District] had been in my thoughts all along," Robinson said.

The Senate race, he added, is too big of a race for him to run. A congressional race, though, is "more realistic" and something he had thought about for some time.

A formal announcement about his candidacy for Congress is likely to come early next week, Robinson said. 

Robinson is an engineer and musician who currently works for Stratus Technologies based in Maynard. He is a member of the Newton Ward 5 Democratic Committee and a graduate of Cornell University.

During a debate at UMass Lowell in October, Robinson stressed that he would be able to voice "regular American values" in the Senate and that his strength as a candidate rested on the fact that he is not a career politician. 

Robinson also noted during the debate that he supported Obama’s jobs program, but did not think it had enough stimulus spending in it. He also said that tax rates should be varied depending on how the economy is doing and that marijuana should be legalized and "sold just as alcohol is sold."

As he shifts into the race for Congress, Robinson said he will continue to stick to his ideas and values around fixing the economy. A part of that, he said, is focusing on energy and energy sources that don't involve nuclear power. 

Another focus, Robinson said, will be fundraising early on in the race.

"I didn't think it was important to fundraise early [in the Senate race]," Robinson said, noting that has made it difficult for him to raise money. 

According to the Federal Election Commission, as of Sept. 30 Robinson had received a little over $4,000 in donations and $8,000 in loans. His campaign expenses as of that date were roughly $10,000. 

Robinson and Conroy are two recent names on the list of Democratic candidates who have called it quits after Elizabeth Warren's announcement, including ; Brookline resident and City Year co-founder ; and Somerville resident and activist .

With Robinson switching races, the Democrats left in the Senate race include , a North Shore lawyer; James C. King, a Dover resident and Boston-based attorney; and former Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, the race's current frontrunner. 

Correction: James C. King is a Boston-based attorney.