A young Democrat announced his intent to run against state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe next year for the right to represent the 12th District in Harrisburg.

Zack Byrnes, 24, of Evans City said he will run in the 2010 primary. He will officially announce his candidacy Nov. 1 at the Butler County Democratic Fall Event at the South Butler Fire Hall.

Byrnes, a 2003 graduate of Butler High School, knows a thing or two about government. He studied the subject and got a degree in government at Cornell University before he moved back to the county and became the director of development and communication for the nonprofit Blind Association of Butler and Armstrong counties.

He said constituents of the 12th District deserve a representative who will work under a spirit of cooperation, not one who continually makes divisive statements and alienates himself from those who disagree with his policies.