There is a familiar name in the list of nominees that U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has submitted to President Barack Obama to be the U.S. attorney for North Carolina's Middle District - Wake County Special Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand.

Rand is the son of state Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat.

Hagan has also recommended Lee Farmer, the member-manager for the law offices of R. Lee Farmer, and Susan Taylor, resident Superior Court Judge in District 20A and 20B.

Hagan also submitted three names for the U.S. attorney in the Western District: Peter Anderson, a partner at Anderson Terpening, PLLC; Danny Davis, Chief District Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District; and Anne Tompkins, a partner at Alston and Bird.

Four names have surfaced for U.S. attorney in Western North Carolina.

As reported in The Charlotte Observer, three former federal prosecutors and a state judge are interested in becoming the U.S. attorney for the Western District based in Charlotte:

Pete Anderson: A criminal defense attorney who has served as a prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington and the U.S. attorney's office in Charlotte.

Anne Tompkins: A former state and federal prosecutor who worked on an eight-month special assignment in Iraq to help prosecute Saddam Hussein in 2004.

Thomas Walker: A former state and federal prosecutor who served as special counsel to Attorney General Roy Cooper and is now a partner at Alston & Bird. 

Dennis Winner: A former six-term state senator who is in his second stint as a state Superior Court judge in the Asheville area.

As previously noted, former Congressional candidate and assistant Wake County prosecutor Daniel Johnson of Hickory is also under consideration.

Sen. Kay Hagan will play a key role in the appointment.