The Alabama Democratic Party is pulling in the “welcome mat” for former congressman Artur Davis. The party’s executive state board will not allow Davis to run as a Democrat in upcoming elections. The panel voted down a request to reinstate Davis who spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2012. A party rule prohibits someone from running as a Democrat if they supported another party in the last four years. After unsuccessfully running for governor in 2010, the high-profile Democrat announced he was switching to the GOP. Chairwoman Nancy Worley says Davis can’t run as a Democratic candidate until 2017. Davis argued other party switchers had been welcomed back including Parker Griffith who ran for governor last year. Davis was thinking of running for Montgomery County Commission as a Democrat.