Two things are certain about the Senate race next year.

Democrats think they can beat Sen. Richard Burr. And party faithful seem worried about the candidate roster. Over the weekend, articles in The American Spectator and The Hill ruminated on the would-be or wouldn't-be candidates.

The Spectator article dismissed Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis as "no-name lawyers." The piece focused on why top-tier candidates, including Attorney General Roy Cooper, decided not to run.

So why did Cooper brush aside a Senate bid? We'll never know for sure, but two possibilities come to mind. One is the heat Cooper has taken from Republicans, which has trickled into the wider electorate, for going soft on former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. Easley is under state and federal investigation for alleged ethics violations and campaign finance malfeasance.

A second reason is a defamation lawsuit filed against Cooper nine years ago. The suit alleges that Cooper defamed his Republican challenger during a race for attorney general by airing a misleading television ad. A superior court judge recently denied Cooper's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to go to trial.

The Hill piece wonders whether Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who is clearly trying to generate buzz for a run, could follow in the steps of Kay Hagan, who was seen as a long-shot candidate who went on to defeat Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Still, thanks to the decisions of state Attorney General Roy Cooper and a few members of the state’s congressional delegation to pass on the race, Marshall appears next in line.

Nobody is getting terribly excited about her candidacy, but nobody was terribly excited two years ago either, after a similar cast of characters passed on a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole.