Bill Cook to run for NC Senate, Hood Richardson for County Commission | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    The political season is heating up. Bill Cook confirmed today that he is not running to retain his seat in the N. C. House but will run instead for the state Senate. That will put him running in the revised Senate district that Hood Richardson ran against Marc Basnight in 2010. Senate district one is comprised of all of Beaufort and Dare counties, the two largest counties in the district along with Hyde, Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Gates. The majority of actual voters reside in Beaufort, Dare and Pasquotank counties. There are 187,327 residents in the District, with 122,340 living in the three largest counties.

    The House District 6 would have put Cook running in parts of Beaufort, Dare, Hyde and Washington counties. That district contains 83,234 residents. Forty percent of the district is contained in Dare County, while only 36% is in Beaufort County because the southern part of Beaufort is in the Third District along with Craven and Pamlico.

    Cook said: "I believe geography is in my favor in the Senate district more than it is in the House district because of Beaufort being split. Moreover, I believe I can be of greater service to all eight counties in Senate District 1 because I would be one of fifty senators where I'm now one of 120 House members."

    When asked what kind of chance he thinks he has for winning the Senate seat he said: "I think it is very good. It will take a lot of work and I will need a lot of support from my supporters, but I think I have a solid record that most of the people in this district support. I was recognized by the Civitas Institute as one of the most effective conservative House members this past session and most of the people in Senate District 1 have conservative values, whether they are registered Democrat, Republican or unaffiliated. The biggest problem is the geographical size of the district, but that is true of both the House and Senate districts and the district is the same size for anyone who is going to be running against me. I think we can win."
Commissioner Hood Richardson in July, 2004     photo by Stan Deatherage
    Hood Richardson ran against one of the most entrenched politicians in the state in 2010 in the same district when he garnered 45% of the vote against Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, spending only a small fraction of what Basnight had to spend.

    Richardson said in a brief interview that he supports Cook's run for the Senate. "Yes, it's true I had been considering running for the Senate but that was because no other conservative candidate had stepped forward. Bill Cook is a good conservative and he did a good job in the House. I can support him. I plan to run for County Commissioner because I think the next four years will be very critical years for Beaufort County. We have got to elect a conservative board of commissioners or this county is going to be bankrupt if the Gang of Five continues to spend or give away taxpayer money like they have for the last four years." The "Gang of Five" Richardson was referring to is Democrats Robert Cayton, Jerry Langley, Ed Booth and what Richardson called RINO's (Republicans in Name Only) Al Klemm and Jay McRoy. Richardson, Cayton, Langley and McRoy are up for re-election in November. The May primary will select four Republicans and four Democrats to run in November, 2012.

    It is expected that Cook will face current appointee Sen. Stan White from Dare County in the general election. No other Republicans have announced to run for that seat.