Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, the first woman elected to a statewide office in North Carolina, is entering the race for U.S. Senate against Republican Richard Burr.
Marshall, a Democrat, filed paperwork this week to create a campaign committee.
Her political consultant, Thomas Mills, said yesterday that Marshall had been thinking about running for a while and decided that "now's the time" to enter the race.
"The country's in a world of hurt," Mills said. "And we need leaders that can find solutions. Secretary Marshall has built a career out of building consensus and solving problems."
Kenneth Lewis, a lawyer from Durham, is the only other Democrat to declare candidacy, although others are considering running.
Party primaries are scheduled for May 4.
Marshall campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2002 but was eliminated in the Democratic primary election. Republican Elizabeth Dole, the first woman elected to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, went on to claim that seat but lost it last year to Kay Hagan.
Marshall was elected secretary of state in 1996.
Burr had amassed more than $2.5 million in re-election campaign cash through the end of June, according to finance records.
Paul Shumaker, Burr's political consultant, said that political trends for the Republican Party have improved since Democrats swept the top of the ticket in North Carolina last year. He noted public concerns about the deficit and Democrats in Congress, and he said that the party appears to be having problems bringing forward a real candidate.
"That's very much reflective of the national mood right now," Shumaker said. "There's a lot of anger and concern expressed over the August recess about the direction of the country as a whole."
Hagan didn't enter the Senate race until October 2007. She defeated Dole by eight percentage points.
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