North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall was endorsed this morning by Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis in the Democratic Senate primary runoff against Cal Cunningham. Lewis finished third in the May 4 primary, taking 17 percent of the vote that helped keep Marshall below the 40 percent needed to win the nomination outright.

Both candidates hoped to win the backing of Lewis as they push to win over as many voters as possible before the June 22 runoff.

"I respect all the candidates that ran, but, after it all, I'm supporting Elaine Marshall because I believe she can beat Richard Burr, and because I know she'll be a real fighter for North Carolinians in the Senate," Lewis wrote in a fundraising email from the Marshall campaign.

The Marshall campaign already believed it had the upper hand among black voters in the runoff, and the endorsement by Lewis, who is black, may help. Blacks could make up nearly a third of the runoff electorate.

"The combination of our organizations will build a powerful movement that leads us to victory in November," Marshall said at the announcement event in Raleigh.