Buncombe County Democratic state senator Terry Van Duyn will run for lieutenant governor in 2020. She made the announcement Monday morning in a video posted on her Twitter account.
I want you to be the first to know I'm running to be your next Lieutenant Governor in North Carolina! #ncpol #TVD2020 #ncga pic.twitter.com/EqKTMgHCEE
— Terry Van Duyn (@TerryVanDuynNC) December 10, 2018
In the video, Van Duyn said she's running "because (governor) Roy Cooper needs a strong ally in his fight for working families." Van Duyn was appointed to the state senate District 49 seat in 2014, and won re-election in both 2016 and 2018. She received nearly 64% of the vote in last month's election, defeating Republican Mark Crawford and Libertarian Lyndon Smith. She currently serves as her party's whip in the senate
Van Duyn is the second Democrat to announce their candidacy for lieutenant governor. Attorney and former state senator Cal Cunningham of Raleigh announced late last month he'd seek the party's nomination for the office. Current lieutenant governor, Republican Dan Forest, is finishing his second term and cannot run again for the office because of term limits. He's widely expected to seek the GOP nomination for governor in 2020.