Marshall hires new operative

[ccharles000]

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elaine Marshall has brought in a campaign operative with experience in going up against establishment-backed candidates.

Marshall, the secretary of state, has hired A.J. Carrillo to oversee day-to-day activities and coordinate strategy for her campaign, Rob Christensen reports. Marshall is in a Democratic primary race which includes former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington, who has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Chapel Hill lawyer Kenneth Lewis is also running for the Democratic nomination. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, is running for re-election.

Carrillo knows what's ahead for Marshall. In 2008, he worked for Kentucky Senate candidate Greg Fisher, who finished second in a seven-member Democratic primary field to Bruce Lundsford, who was backed by the DSCC.

Two years earlier, Carrillo worked for Jerry McNerney who upset Steve Filson, the candidate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in California's 11th district. McNerney won, in part, by running an extensive "netroots" campaign that tapped into the support of liberal Internet contributors around the country. McNerney defeated Republican Rep. Richard Pombo in the fall.

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