Albertson to leave Senate

The State Senate's District 10 seat is open for the first time in more than 15 years, and District Attorney Dewey Hudson has expressed an interest to The Daily News in running for that seat

Hudson announced Friday that he will not run for the office for a fourth term following State Sen. Charlie Albertson's own announcement that he will not run for a 10th term in the General Assembly.

Albertson and Hudson are both Democrats. Hudson, who lives in Sampson County, is the chief prosecutor in the 4th District that includes Onslow, Duplin, Jones and Sampson counties. Albertson's senate seat represents Duplin, Lenoir and Sampson counties.

It was a day for announcements as Lenoir County Commissioner Chris Humphrey, a Republican, announced that he intended to seek the state seat.

Albertson, 78, served in the state House from 1989 to 1992, and began his first of nine terms in the Senate during 1993, giving him a total of 21 years in the state legislature.

'That's a long time, and I just think it's time for me to take a break and see what the next chapter is,' Albertson said.

Humphrey, 40, has served as a county commissioner since 2002 and was a La Grange town commissioner for several years before that. He also works as an Allstate Insurance agent and is the president of the ERA Humphrey Realty Group in Kinston.

'I'd always thought about it but hadn't found an opportune time to do it,' he said of running for the legislature. 'But this looks like it might be a good year for Republicans.'

Humphrey has been testing the waters in the 10th district ' which includes all of Lenoir, Duplin and Sampson counties ' since December and expects to do well in a district that has been a Democratic stronghold for nearly two decades.

He said Republicans have gained momentum during the past year, winning electoral upsets in other states and capitalizing on public frustration with massive federal spending.

'Squabbles in Congress, the health care plan, they feel like government's taking (too much) control,' Humphrey explained. 'Common sense is what it boils down to.'

Lyle Holland, past chairman of the Lenoir County Democratic Party, said rumors have swirled in political circles about whether Albertson would run again and who would take his place if he did step down.

'There have been both Democratic and Republican folks standing in the wings to see what he might do, so that might open the floodgates for both parties,' Holland said.