By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
jonathan@wdnweb.com
Staff Writer
The Washington Daily News has confirmed that state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, is resigning his post after 14 terms in office.
The Manteo Democrat has been suffering from a rare nerve affliction that has impaired his speech and other physical functions, but apparently has left his cognitive faculties unaffected.
Basnight lost his leadership clout with the election of a GOP majority in the Senate last November.
Kellie Harris Hopkins, Beaufort County’s elections director, has confirmed that a nominee to replace Basnight would be selected by the executive committee of the Democratic Party in state Senate District 1, the district in which Basnight served.
The district encompasses eight counties in the northeast, including Beaufort County.
Once the executive committee makes its recommendation, Gov. Beverly Perdue will have seven days to appoint the replacement, according to Hopkins, who consulted election law.
The appointed replacement will serve out Basnight’s full two-year term.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s print edition.