Local Politics

Dems pick Asheville lawmaker as Senate leader

The Democratic caucus in the state Senate voted Tuesday to name Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, as their leader.

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Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe County
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Democratic caucus in the state Senate voted Tuesday to name Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, as their leader.

Nesbitt will replace Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, as Senate majority leader. Rand announced recently that he would resign his legislative seat to become chairman of the state Post-release Supervision and Parole Commission.

Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight endorsed Nesbitt for the job shortly after Rand announced his pending move.

Nesbitt, an Asheville lawyer, has been a state lawmaker for 30 years, becoming one of the House's chief budget-writers in the 1990s. He has been in the Senate since 2004.

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