Wake County commissioner Tony Gurley has picked up the endorsement of former Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner in his bid to win the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.
Gardner, a Rocky Mount businessman, said he was making a rare entry into Republican primary politics, but said he liked the idea that Gurley, a pharmacy owner, had a background in business.
"Frankly, I can't think of anyone more prepared to serve as North Carolina's lieutenant governor,” Gardner writes in a fund raising letter. “Tony Gurley has a unique blend of experience in government and business. We cannot afford another four years of liberal Democrats killing jobs. And Republicans can't afford to nominate a candidate who needs on the job training.”
Gurley faces Dan Forest, a Raleigh architect. The winner will face Democratic incumbent Walter Dalton.
Gardner, a former congressman and former state party chairman, is a three-time candidate for governor. He was an early leader in building the Republican Party in North Carolina in the 1960s and the 1970s.
