Rep. Etheridge to skip Senate bid

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) will not challenge Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in 2010, his campaign announced Friday.

Etheridge is saying no to the race for the second time this cycle, as Democratic officials convinced him to rethink the race when other recruits didn’t pan out.

“North Carolina is ready for a change in the Senate, as shown in Richard Burr's low approval ratings,” Etheridge said in a statement. “I look forward to helping a Democratic candidate defeat Richard Burr in 2010, but I will not be that candidate.”

His exit leaves the party without a top-tier recruit for the race. National Democrats have balked at the prospect of the front-runner, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, being their nominee.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper was their top choice and took a meeting with the White House about the race, only to turn his party down.

Marshall now appears a solid front-runner, after attorney and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham opted out of the Democratic primary recently.

Burr is a second-tier target for Democrats, but their success in statewide races in North Carolina in recent years, including with little-known state Sen. Kay Hagan running for Senate last year, has given them hoping of landing a big fish.

Republicans seized on the Democrats’ recruiting failure and said it is a sign of Burr’s strength.

“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,’” said Colin Reed, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.