Former NC Chief Justice Cheri Beasley Jumps into 2022 US Senate Scrum

RALEIGH – After losing the statewide race for Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court by a razor thin margin, and subsequently teasing another statewide run in 2022, Democrat Cheri Beasley is officially joining the crowd running for U.S. Senate.

Her entry into the race adds more competition to a growing primary field for Democrats, but it’s the identity politics that turns her into a front runner according to the media focused on such things. From WRAL:

“Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, the first Black woman to hold that post, will jump into the state’s U.S. Senate race next month, according to an adviser.

“Justice Beasley is getting ready for a U.S. Senate run,” the adviser said Thursday. “She’s preparing a team, and the launch will be in the early part of next month.”

Beasley’s name has been bandied about for a while in political circles, but her decision changes the race’s dynamics significantly. She is potentially the Democratic front-runner in what may eventually be a crowded field to replace retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in the 2022 elections. […]”

That potential comes from more than just statewide name ID and an impressive resume; it comes also from the identity boxes she checks off and level of anticipated backing her candidacy may therefore attract.

As such, the news of Beasley’s entry into the race is not likely welcomed by white male Democrat NC Sen. Jeff Jackson, who will half to compete for a primary base that prioritizes Woke tenets that necessarily saddle white guys with the whole race supremacist guilt at the very least.  Can Democrat white males even still run for office?

Similarly, former NC Senator Erica Smith no longer represents the sole black female in the contest for Woke votes among Democrat primary voters.

Beyond the identity politics, and despite her tenure on the Supreme Court with the associated name ID, we imagine that voters still don’t know very much about Beasley’s exact brand of politics. Unlike Jackson and Smith, Beasley doesn’t have the political branding that comes with a legislative record (Judicial activism notwithstanding).

In the end though, the ‘Honorable Judge’ brand maybe all that’s needed to rise to the top of a field built on bunk ideas.

Overall, primary fields continue to fill out on both sides, promising a very active year ahead. Especially with North Carolina being a microcosm of the national political battle — a swing state in swing times — the 2022 race for US Senate in North Carolina will likely become one of the most expensive and high profile senate races in history.