The former mayor of a western Piedmont city announced Monday he's joining North Carolina's U.S. Senate race this year, bringing the total number of Republican candidates in the race to at least six.
Ted Alexander, the mayor of Shelby for eight years until 2011, has been Cleveland County Republican Party chairman for the past year. The GOP primary in May is supposed to determine the top challenger to Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan, who doesn't face opposition from prominent members in her party.
Alexander told The Shelby Star he felt God was compelling him to get in the race