U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler's non-campaign lasted 118 days.
The Waynesville Democrat kicked off his non-run for the seat held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr in an interview with the Hendersonville Times-News on Nov. 13 and ended it with a brief statement yesterday.
At no point did he ever say he was actually in the race, but Shuler got some good coverage nonetheless.
A few highlights: Shuler was praised in an editorial, held a fundraiser with Bill Clinton that raised six figures, attended Gov. Beverly Perdue's inaugural ball, was polled twice against Burr, drew attention (and the ire of Democratic leaders) for criticizing the stimulus package, became a whip for the Blue Dog Coalition and became a target for liberals on BlueNC.
All in all, that's pretty good coverage for the second-newest member of the state's Congressional delegation. It beats the attention paid to Democratic Rep. Brad Miller during his 63-day non-campaign against Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2007.
Previously: Why the "Sophomore Strivers" usually don't run.
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