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RALEIGH — Guilford County Commissioner Bruce Davis says he will challenge Sen. Katie Dorsett for the District 28 state Senate seat this spring, setting up an unusual primary between two well-known Democrats.

Davis was first appointed, then elected a commissioner in 2002. He said his bid for the Senate was not a comment on Dorsett as an individual.

"I have the utmost respect for Katie Dorsett," he said. "I have much respect for the work she has done. It's more about me trying to bring about some change. New leadership is good,"

Davis, 50, co-owns a day care center with his wife in High Point.

He listed improving education, helping to alleviate homelessness and creating jobs as his broad concerns.

He also listed rallying support for the High Point Furniture Market and the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro as specific concerns.

Dorsett, 75, is from Greensboro, and Davis was quick to say that he did not want the race to be viewed strictly as a cross-county rivalry. However, he did note that Laura Wiley was the only High Point resident among the 10 legislators who represent Guilford County.

"At this point here, I think that someone from this particular area should be running for that seat," Davis said. In particular, he said, having another legislator from the city could help bolster support for the furniture market.

Dorsett said having another well-known Democrat enter the race had not changed her mind about running for a fourth term.

Dorsett added that she believed she had done well representing all of her district.

"One of the things we're trying to do is not have such separation," she said.

"We're trying to be one community. I don't think of myself as representing either Greensboro or High Point, but the whole district."

Dorsett is the majority whip in the Senate, a position responsible for counting votes and helping hold Democrats together on fractious votes. She has been secretary of the sate Department of Administration and has served on the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

It is unusual for someone who has been such a political fixture to be challenged from within her own party, particularly by someone who is a current officeholder and has legitimate aspirations to higher office.

"It is quite rare for that to happen unless there's some particular reason the incumbent is weak," said Thom Little, a part-time UNCG faculty member and expert on legislative politics.

He said nothing about Dorsett indicates she is weak politically and noted that Davis is risking little.

Davis' term as a county commissioner doesn't end until 2010. He can keep his seat as he runs for the state Senate.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com.