Spring Lake mayor gets into US Senate race to challenge Burr

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – The mayor of a small town near Fort Bragg is running next year for the US Senate seat currently held by Republican Richard Burr.

Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey unveiled his candidacy Monday with website and Facebook postings. Rey’s decision marks the first Democrat to announce among a handful or current or former elected officials looking at a Senate bid.

The 38-year-old Rey is a National Guard officer previously on active duty in the Army and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rey says if elected he would work to fully implement health care reform, lower the small business tax rate and promote public education and veterans’ assistance.

Any primary elections appear slated for mid-March. Republicans at the legislature want to move the primaries up from May.

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