After strongly suggesting that he planned to jump into the Senate race for Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) seat, North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) announced Monday that he is simply seeking re-election.
“Over the past several months, I’ve heard from numerous people across North Carolina asking me to declare my candidacy for the United States Senate. I am humbled and grateful for the kind words of encouragement,” Berger said in a statement released on Monday. “Like many, I understand that one of the most important political tasks before us is to replace Kay Hagan as North Carolina’s junior United States Senator.
“Senator Hagan’s tenure in Washington has been a disappointment in countless ways,” Berger continued. “Her record does not reflect the conservative values of most North Carolinians or the strong leadership we deserve from our elected representatives. I understand that winning this seat has tremendous implications not only for control of the U.S. Senate in the final two years of the Obama presidency, but also for the direction of our nation.”
“However, after careful consideration and consultation with family, friends and supporters, I have decided now is not the time for me to undertake such a campaign.”
Berger’s announcement contradicts recent moves he’d been making suggesting plans to run. Berger’s campaign website emphasized his criticism at Hagan as well as support for North Carolina’s new controversial voter ID laws, suggesting he planned to announce a run against her soon. Berger also backed a $100,000 advertising campaign attacking Hagan’s opposition to the state’s new voter ID laws. Adding to what seemed to be an inevitable Senate run, Hagan’s re-election campaign even hit back at the ads.
Nevertheless, observers and politicos in North Carolina were skeptical that Berger was doing anything more than just toying with the idea of a Senate run. If Berger had jumped into the race, he would have first had to fight North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R), the socially conservative Reverend Mark Harris, and Tea Party-backed Dr. Greg Brannon in the primary.
“I personally don’t think he’s going to run,” a North Carolina Democratic political operative told TPM earlier this month. “He is very powerful in Raleigh. He and Tillis don’t get along. My guess is he’s just trolling Tillis to mess with him.”
If Berger had jumped into the race, he likely would have tangled with Tillis over who more sufficiently supports the voter ID laws. Both North Carolina Republicans had strongly highlighted their support for the new measures, partially to rally conservatives in the state and partially to draw a contrast with Hagan, who has criticized the new voting requirements.
Tillis has been seen as the likeliest Republican to clinch the nomination and run against Hagan in the general, but national Republicans reportedly find him lacking. Even while Berger had said he was open to running for Senate he had also been encouraging state Sen. Pete Brunstetter (R) to enter the race.
