Senator-elect Kay Hagan will face her first decision soon.
As the only Democratic senator from North Carolina, Hagan will be consulted by President-elect Barack Obama on who to name as a U.S. attorney.
Typically, senators from the same party as the incoming president have some influence over the appointments of federal prosecutors, who are uniformly replaced when the White House switches parties.
The nominees are confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms.
North Carolina has three U.S. attorneys representing the Eastern, Middle and Western districts.
In recent years, federal prosecutors in North Carolina have played a key role in state corruption cases.
George Holding, currently the Republican U.S. attorney from the Eastern District, led the successful prosecution of former House Speaker Jim Black.
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