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RALEIGH (AP) - Democrats in North Carolina expanded their search for a Senate challenger Tuesday as one prominent party prospect pulled his name from consideration and another pushed back his decision.

North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler said he wanted to spend his time focusing on reviving the economy rather than campaigning statewide against Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who faces re-election late next year.

"Whoever decides to run, it'll be a race, and it will be a competitive race," Shuler said in an interview Tuesday.

Shuler's decision follows that of North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller. Two years ago, both also considered, then declined, a run against former Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Meanwhile, political consultant Morgan Jackson said Attorney General Roy Cooper probably won't decide on a Senate run for a few more months. Jackson said the state's top prosecutor has been asked to consider other ways of serving "but its too early for him to make such a decision."

Complicating Cooper's plans, a defamation lawsuit filed against him by 2000 campaign opponent Dan Boyce heads to trial in May.

Others who have been floated as prospects for the job issued varying comments: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who ran for the Senate in 2002, declared she wasn't seeking the job but wouldn't rule herself out for good.

State schools superintendent June Atkinson said she has "absolutely no intention" to run. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said he wasn't interested and would surely not run.

Former State Treasurer Richard Moore said he has no plans to enter the race but doesn't want to rule anything out. He said the political environment likely won't be as good for Democrats in 2010 as it was in 2008 - when Barack Obama was running for president and brought a huge turnout in North Carolina. The success in the November has, however, emboldened the party as they look to target Burr and expand their ranks on Capitol Hill.

"I don't think you're going to be able to put your name on the ballot in an off-year and ride the wave to beat an incumbent of the United States Senate," Moore said in an interview.

"You'd always like to have somebody who is solid on the issues, someone who can raise the money that will need to be raised to be competitive, and someone who may be fortunate enough to have name recognition."

Of course, the Democrats don't necessarily need a smooth search process. A revolving line of candidates declined to challenge Dole two years ago. Sen. Kay Hagan, who decided to run in October of 2007 and later won the seat, initially opted out of the campaign.

Paul Shumaker, a Republican strategist who works with Burr, said he expects a number of new candidates to rise for consideration. Burr's campaign is simply getting its operation going.

"We're going to have an opponent, and North Carolina is going to have a competitive race no matter who the opponents are," Shumaker said.

"It's going to be a competitive process, and we have to stay focused."