According to the good folks over at Blue NC, Grier Martin called to say that he’s passing on a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole:
That leaves the race in the hands of little known fundraiser Jim Neal. While national Democrats have done a good job convincing themselves that second-tier candidates Jeff Merkley and Marty Chavez are really first-tier candidates, there’s no way to spin Neal’s candidacy in such a way.
For those keeping track at home, the following North Carolina Democrats have passed on the race:
* Gov. Mark Easley
* Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue
* Treasurer Richard Moore
* AG Roy Cooper
* Raleigh Mayor Charlie Meeker
* Congressman Brad Miller
* State Sen. Kay Hagan
* State Rep. Grier Martin
(Presumably, Congressmen Bob Etheridge, Mike McIntyre, and David Price are also not running)
Maybe Erskine Bowles is still availible.
While Elizabeth Dole has vulnerabilities and North Carolina has a fervent Democratic population, this latest recruitment failure signals that Dole is likely to get a pass this election. Neal may make the race competitive enough for Dole to have to pay attention to it, but her large warchest and sound campaigning skills should allow her to win re-election without a sweat.