Despite qualifying for the ballot, Durham county commissioner Lewis Cheek has announced that he won't take on District Attorney Mike Nifong in November despite Nifong's handling of the disastrous lacrosse prosecution:
Durham lawyer Lewis Cheek announced this morning that he will not run against District Attorney Mike Nifong, even though Cheek's name will appear on the ballot in November.
Cheek said he did not want to harm his three-year-old law practice and its other lawyers and employees by pulling out to serve as District Attorney.
"I will not run a campaign, and I will not serve as District Attorney," Cheek said.
Still, Cheek said he would vote for himself in the fall, and encouraged others who are dissatisfied with Nifong to do the same. If Cheek wins, he said he would decline the office, leaving it up to Gov. Mike Easley to appoint Durham's next District Attorney. It was Easley who appointed Nifong to the job last year after former District Attorney Jim Hardin became a judge.
The odds of beating Nifong without an active campaign against him are very low. This is bad news.
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