Ex-state senator in North Carolina enters race against Tillis

Former North Carolina state Sen. Cal Cunningham (D) announced on Monday that he will challenge Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) for his seat in 2020. 

Cunningham, a veteran of the Iraq War who served as an Army prosecutor, is the third Democrat to enter the race against Tillis, who also faces a GOP primary challenge.

{mosads}Tillis is seen as one of the more vulnerable Republicans in the Senate, as Democrats are hopeful their presidential candidate could win the Tarheel State. 

Former President Obama in 2008 is the only Democrat to recently win the state in a presidential election, and he was defeated there four years later.

Cunningham is leaving a more crowded race for lieutenant governor to join the Senate race. He previously ran in 2010 for the U.S. Senate, finishing second in the Democratic primary. He received support in that race from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. 

In his announcement video, Cunningham said he would fight for an economy that worked “for everybody, for the health care that each family deserves, and to reform the corrupt political system in Washington.”

He cast his decision to change races as one motivated by a desire to effect positive change in people’s lives, saying people on the campaign trail had asked him about entering the Senate race, according to The Associated Press. 

Cunningham joins North Carolina state Sen. Erica Smith and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Trevor Fuller in the Senate race. 

Tillis’s campaign responded to Cunningham’s challenge, calling him Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) “handpicked candidate.” 

“Out of touch liberal Cal Cunningham enters this race by abandoning his previous commitment and demonstrating his total inability to say ‘no’ to Chuck Schumer,” Tillis campaign manager Luke Blanchat said in a statement on Monday. 

Tillis, who has been a staunch supporter of President Trump, is likely to have heavy financial support from national Republicans in the race.

The GOP holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is determined to retain it in 2020.

Tillis recently dodged a primary challenge from Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) after the congressman decided against the move.