Former Shelby mayor and longtime resident Ted Alexander plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat in the 2014 election.
Alexander told The Star this morning that he plans to make a formal announcement at 2:30 p.m. today in Shelby.
Alexander, 53, served two terms as Shelby mayor from 2003 to 2011.
He's served as chairman of the Cleveland County Republican Party for the past year and will resign from the post to run for Senate.
Filing for congressional seats begins in North Carolina on Feb. 10 and runs through Feb. 28.
The primary election is set for May 6, with the general election scheduled for Nov. 4 this year.
"It's an inner tugging that you feel God's compelled you to do it," Alexander said of the timing of his Senate bid. "I just had to be obedient to go ahead and do that. It's something internal that I knew I had to do it now. I think our country is now in a very critical stage in its life. There are things I've learned over the years that I think could help our state, as well as our country, during this time."
Alexander said he's held a number of positions with statewide impact throughout his career, including a period as president of the N.C. Downtown Development Association.
He's a native of Morganton. He's lived in Shelby since 1988, except for two years when he served as coordinator of Virginia's Main Street downtown development program.
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