David Young is staying neutral in the Senate race.

The chair of the N.C. Democratic Party relayed his concern to Dome that we were misinterpreting his recent statements that he thinks U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler "would be a fantastic candidate."

We had linked to the comments while noting that local and national Democrats were pressuring Shuler to run.

In an e-mail to Dome, Democratic staffer Jerimee Richir said that he's not taking a stance and would happily support dark-horse candidates Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis.

"David Young feels that Cunningham and Lewis would be great Senators," Richir wrote. "He also reemphasized that the NCDP is neutral in primaries."

Reaction to Attorney General Roy Cooper's decision not to run against Sen. Richard Burr:

Swing State Project: "This is a major bummer, no doubt. Most polls had Cooper running neck and neck with Burr, holding him well under 50% in all cases -- the best numbers any Democrat have yielded in a hypothetical head-to-head."

Politico: "Cooper is the second high-profile Democrat -- after Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) -- to decide not to run against Burr, and puts Democrats back to the drawing board to find a credible candidate against Burr."

The Hill: "Burr could still be vulnerable to the right kind of challenger. Democrats fell back on state Sen. Kay Hagan (D) in the 2008 race against Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and still unseated the incumbent with relative ease."

The Fix: "A big recruiting setback for Senate Dems in NC."

N.C. GOP spokesman Brent Woodcox: "Wrote a press release, issues memo, sent out a news update, got Roy Cooper to not run for Senate. That's what I do before lunch."

N.C. Democratic Party staffer Jerimee Richir: "Roy Cooper out of NC Senate race. Let the brawl ensue."

Draft Coop: "What do we do now?????"