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RALEIGH (AP) — Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, the first woman elected to a statewide office in North Carolina, is entering the race for U.S. Senate with the hopes of unseating Republican Richard Burr.

Marshall filed paperwork this week to create a campaign committee. Her political consultant, Thomas Mills, said Wednesday she had been thinking about running for a while and decided that "now's the time" to enter the race.

"The country's in a world of hurt," Mills said. "And we need leaders that can find solutions. Secretary Marshall has built a career out of building consensus and solving problems."

Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis is the only other Democrat to declare candidacy, although others are considering the race. Party primaries are scheduled for May.

Marshall unsuccessfully campaigned for U.S. Senate in 2002 but was eliminated during the primary. Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, the first woman elected to represent North Carolina in the upper chamber, went on to claim that seat but lost it last year to Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.

Marshall was elected secretary of state in 1996.

Burr had already amassed more than $2.5 million in re-election campaign cash through the end of June, according to finance records. Paul Shumaker, Burr's political consultant, said political trends for the GOP have improved since the Democrats swept the top of the ticket in North Carolina last year. He noted public concerns about the deficit and Democrats in Congress, and he said the party appears to be having problems bringing forward a de facto candidate around which activists can gather.

"That's very much reflective of the national mood right now," Shumaker said. "There's a lot of anger and concern expressed over the August recess about the direction of the country as a whole. So we have every reason to be encouraged about next year."

Hagan didn't enter the Senate race until October of 2007. She defeated Dole by 8 percentage points.