news-record.com

ASHEBORO (MCT) — Asheboro City Councilman Eddie Burks will challenge Sen. Richard Burr in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate on May 4.

Burks, who's in his third year on the Asheboro council, said he wants to bring a fresh, conservative perspective to the nation's capital.

"After testing the political waters across the state during the past few months, I believe that many citizens of North Carolina are ready for a change in the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Richard Burr," Burks said earlier this month in a statement announcing his candidacy.

"Yes, I am a Republican and believe the conservative platform of the GOP offers greater hope of restoring our nation than what we are seeing in the capital today,"

A small business owner who grew up in Randolph County, Burks said he would be more attentive to constituents than Burr, the first-term senator from Winston-Salem.

Among the issues that Burks highlights is greater attention to balancing the federal budget, free-market and liability-reform approaches to health care and reducing federal taxes.

A primary challenger won't significantly alter Burr's campaign strategy this year, said Samantha Smith, spokeswoman for the Richard Burr Committee. It's not unusual for an incumbent senator in North Carolina to face a primary challenger during elections in the past 30 years, she said.

Three Democratic challengers already are campaigning for their party's nomination in the Senate primary. The party nominees will square off in the Nov. 2 general election.