North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge has decided to pass, for a second time, on the opportunity to take on Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr.
"Ultimately, I believe that I can best help the people of North Carolina during this economic downturn by remaining in the House of Representatives and continuing to serve as North Carolina's only member of the House Ways and Means Committee," Etheridge said in a written statement.
The congressman's decision to seek re-election to his House seat is the latest, and maybe the biggest, recruiting set back for Democrats in a state that party officials had hoped would be a top pick-up opportunity next year.
Three Democratic candidates -- North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis and businessman Frank Deaton II have filed to run against Burr, but it's no secret that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was aggressively recruiting Etheridge.
Earlier this cycle, Etheridge decided to pass on the Senate race, but the DSCC's continued efforts made him take a second look.
"Aside from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Senator Burr has the lowest approval rating of any Republican in the United States Senate," DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz said Friday. "That's because he is beholden to the special interests in Washington, he will face a formidable opponent next November."
Etheridge's decision comes just days after former state Rep. Cal Cunningham said he was no longer considering a Senate bid. Cunningham, who is popular among progressives, had been quietly putting together a campaign organization in recent months and had thanked the DSCC for their help in that effort in his announcement Tuesday.
"The Democrats' continued setbacks in North Carolina leave a major hole in their recruiting class," said Colin Reed, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "It's no surprise, though, that the Democrats are having such a difficult time fielding a strong challenger considering, in the words of his 2004 opponent Erskine Bowles, 'Nobody works harder or smarter for North Carolina than Richard Burr does.'"
CQ Politics currently rates the state's Senate race as Leans Republican.
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