Basnight exit ends unique run in NC politics

RALEIGH, NC (By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press) - Whether from his political passion for North Carolina or just raw power, Marc Basnight was like no other leader in the history of the General Assembly.

Sure, other legislative chiefs came from humble beginnings in far-flung areas of the state with little formal education like Basnight. They learned to pull the political levers and create a powerful Democratic machine that favored their constituents while promoting an agenda they believed was best for the state.

But no one did it for so long like Basnight, who announced last week a chronic nerve disease was prompting him to retire from the Legislature later this month after 26 years, a record 18 of them as Senate president pro tempore until November's victories by Republicans ended his reign.