The North Carolina Association of Educators has picked its candidate for the District 1 Senate race: Dare County native and former teacher, Stan White.

According to Dorsey Harris, NCAE staff advocate and education consultant in North Carolina’s northeast region, White has attended every education forum the teachers’ union has held in the run-up to the May primary.

“Absolutely, I think he’s electable — he’s pro-public education, he’s from this district. In his heart, I think he has the best interests of Senate District 1 and the eight counties it includes,” Harris said.

White was chosen after local NCAE leaders from the District 1 counties — Beaufort, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties — met with both Democratic candidates in the race: former educator and Dare County Democratic Party chair, Judy Krahenbuhl, and White.

“NCAE believes Senator Stan White is clearly the best choice for Senate District 1,” NCAE President Rodney Ellis said in a press release. “He’s an effective advocate for public schools, who does his homework and understands what makes public education work. … Stan will work to raise NC teacher pay to the national average so we can recruit and retain excellent teachers who make a positive difference in student achievement. It’s disgraceful that North Carolina is 46th in teacher pay —$10,000 lower than the national average. We fell further in the last 10 years than most other states, and we need an immediate change in direction if we are going to keep improving our schools.”

White has held the District 1 position before, when he was appointed to replace Senator Mark Basnight, who left office for health reasons. White ran against District 1 Senator Bill Cook in the 2012 election and lost by a very narrow margin.

White, in a statement released earlier this week, said about the endorsements, “I’m proud that I can count on teachers to stand with me in this campaign. I promise that I will stand with them in the NC Senate.”

The Democratic primary is slated for May 6, and the general election will be held Nov. 4.