CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - The past couple of weeks have been full of political twists. First, Governor Bev Perdue shocked everyone when said she wouldn't run again, then U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick revealed a surprise of her own. After 18 years of service, she also wants out.
Since then, a long line of familiar faces have been weighing a grab for wider influence.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Pendergraph, a Republican, turned his vision into an official run for Myrick's seat.
"I have spent my entire adult life preparing for this," he said at a press conference Wednesday. "I am as qualified as anyone could be to do this."
And after Pendergraph announced, fellow commissioner and Republican Bill James said in a statement that he'd step aside.
"...When conservatives challenge each other," he wrote, "liberals are the winners."
However, Charlotte City Councilman Andy Dulin, another Republican, made no such concession yet.
He'd like Myrick's seat, and he says he'll make an announcement soon.
Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory would surely have run for District 9...if he hadn't already made a play for Perdue's job.
And Democrat Jennifer Roberts may also join the Congressional race.
"Yes, I am considering it," she says. "I've certainly had a lot of phone calls today."
All of these Mecklenburg candidates will be competing for a region stretching beyond their comfort zone.
After redistricting, the 9th district consists of western union county, about 2/3rds of Mecklenburg and a chunk of Iredell county.
Myrick, by the way, says those changes to her stomping ground...not why she's leaving.
"You reach a point in life, you are ready to move on," she says. "And, like I say, have a life. And that's really what this is about."
Copyright 2012 WBTV. All rights reserved.
