Kenneth Lewis, a Harvard-educated lawyer in Durham and fundraiser for then-candidate Barack Obama last year, is running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate next year.

Lewis, 47, told party leaders and regulars at the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner over the weekend that he was making a run at the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. Lewis is jumping in early, but he could face hefty competition if Attorney General Roy Cooper opts in.

Lewis said his business experience and years of work with nonprofit groups, such as Action for Children, will help guide his work for ordinary citizens.

"We need to invest in a new prosperity that is broad-based and sustainable," Lewis said.

A Winston-Salem native, Lewis clerked for then-N.C. Supreme Court Justice Henry Frye after graduating from law school in 1986 and has worked at firms in Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham.

He raised money for Obama's U.S. Senate race in Illinois in 2004 and helped lead finance operations for Obama's presidential campaign in North Carolina last year. He lives in Chapel Hill with his wife, Holly Ewell-Lewis, and three school-age children.

Previously: Lewis invites Stephon Marbury to Obama fundraiser. 

The Democrats for decades have had their annual Jefferson-Jackson fund raising dinner in Raleigh.

But on Saturday, some 400 to 500 Democrats are expected to gather at the Durham Marriott Convention Center, Rob Christensen reports.

David Young, the state Democratic chairman, said he wanted to see the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner moved around periodically and he said Durham was a good place to start because of its strong Democratic showing in last year’s election.

The featured speaker at the $100-per plate dinner is national Democratic chairman Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia. North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue invited Kaine, and she will be on hand to play host.

The appearance by Kaine is another indication that the Obama administration is paying a lot of attention to North Carolina. Both President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have visited the state.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Tim Kaine is coming to North Carolina.

The Virginia governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be the guest speaker at the N.C. Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and other state officials will also be at the event.

Tickets to the annual fundraiser, one of two major events held by the party, go on sale today at the party's Web site.

The event will be held at the Durham Marriott on May 2.

Kaine was in North Carolina last June for a training session at the Hunt Institute.

Previous speakers include Al Gore, Barack Obama and Sen. Evan Bayh.

Did Gov. Mike Easley lose on Tuesday?

The governor was not on the ballot, but he was the highest-ranking state politician to publicly endorse Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary and he campaigned heavily for her.

That led Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza to list him as one of the primary's losers.

"Obama hammered Clinton in the Tarheel State, and Easley, who will be looking for a job when his second term expires later this year, did himself no favors in positioning for a possible Obama cabinet," he writes. (Note to the Fix: That's Tar Heel State.)

Certainly, Easley damaged his reputation among a certain segment of Barack Obama voters, more than he expected perhaps. (He seemed surprised to be booed at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.) But that's never been his base anyway.

Easley's and Clinton's demographics lined up this election cycle, so an Obama endorsement would have been difficult. (Just as a John Edwards endorsement of Clinton wouldn't really work.) Sitting the race out was an option, but it would have added to the recent charges that he is too aloof.

And Easley does not seem to want a D.C. job after his term ends.

On the plus side, Clinton spent a lot of time talking about Easley's pet issues of attracting biotech firms and training students for our future workforce — including on national television. And as a term-limited governor, he has some political capital to spend.

So, in the end, endorsing Clinton may not have hurt him that much.

Gary Pearce says the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner was "the most divided."

In a post on Talking About Politics, the Democratic political consultant says the fact that Gov. Mike Easley got booed is a sign that emotions are stirred up on the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

"When the Governor gets booed, you know feelings run high," he writes. "It’s like those state Republican conventions back in the 1970s when the moderates and the Jessecrats were at war."

Pearce says the split can be healed if Obama is the nominee, since Clinton voters are "older and more jaded."

If Obama is denied the nomination, he says his younger supporters will feel betrayed and won't have the "scar tissue" to deal with it.

Pearce also says that the longer the race goes on, the more likely the winner will chose the loser as a running mate.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama urged their supporters to support the Democratic Party nominee regardless of who wins during separate speeches Friday evening at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Raleigh. (Staff video by Travis Long)

Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek thought it went well.

He said he skipped his closing remarks because the speeches from the Senate and gubernatorial candidates, presidential candidates and governor had gone so well.

"I thought it would be anticlimactic," he said, adding that they basically consisted of saying "Thank you and come again next year."

He could not remember another Jefferson-Jackson Dinner where a sitting Democratic governor had been booed, but he said that passions are running high in the presidential race, with Barack Obama supporters upset about Gov. Mike Easley's endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

"I didn't hear that at the end of his speech," he said, noting that Easley got a standing ovation at the end of his speech.

Incidentally, he said the Senate and governor candidates were limited to eight minutes apiece, Easley to 10 minutes and Clinton and Obama to 25 minutes.

Not that anyone stuck to those limits. 

Looking for the perfect pin to express your political sentiments?

Sometimes it's just not there. One man in the crowd at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner tonight had an official campaign pin that said "Veterans for Obama." But his wife had to make her own.

"White Over 60 Jewish Female for Obama," it read.

She said that she made the button to prove that not everyone in her particular demographic is voting for Hillary Clinton.

"There's more than one of us in Raleigh!" she added.  

Her husband nodded. "But she's only over 50," he said. 

Barack Obama was more long-winded than Hillary Clinton.

At the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Clinton spoke for about 27 minutes, Obama for about 38 minutes.

The non-presidential candidates for governor and U.S. Senate and Gov. Mike Easley all got 10 minutes apiece and pretty much stuck to it.

Obama also closed the evening out.

Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek had been scheduled to make closing remarks after Obama, but he skipped them, and the crowd filtered out to Obama's standard "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder.

Of course, after the adulation the mostly young, pro-Obama cheering section in the cheap seats was giving, it would have been a tough act to follow. 

Barack Obama namechecked his supporters.

In a half-hour speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, the Democratic presidential candidate thanked three superdelegates who have endorsed him, U.S. Reps. David Price, Mel Watt and G.K. Butterfield.

He also thanked party chairman Jerry Meek.

And, in a classy move, he thanked Gov. Mike Easley, who has endorsed his primary rival, Hillary Clinton, congratulating him on his eight-year tenure.

Finally, he thanked John and Elizabeth Edwards for their work on poverty, and jokingly noting that he recently played basketball with the UNC-Chapel Hill basketball team.