Dennis A. Wicker

Wicker served six terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives[2] from 1981 until 1993.[4] In 1985 Republican James G. Martin was seated as Governor of North Carolina, and Democrats in the North Carolina General Assembly attempted to weaken the powers of his office. Wicker proposed a bill to call for a referendum to amend the state constitution and eliminate gubernatorial succession. The Assembly passed the bill by April, but after doubting the merits and popularity of a measure to remove succession, the legislators repealed Wicker's bill in 1986.[5] In 1989 he became the Democrats' House majority leader, a position he held for the rest of his tenure in the legislature.[4] The following year he supported Dan Blue's nomination to become Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.[3]

Wicker celebrating after his 1992 victory

Once he became Lieutenant Governor, Wicker kept his residence in Sanford and drove to Raleigh and back every day for work. He traveled frequently across the state for his job.[3]

In 1999 Wicker began fundraising for a campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for the 2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election. In January 2000 he officially filed his candidacy. A few weeks later Attorney General Mike Easley filed his own candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Wicker was endorsed by the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, the leaders of the N.C. Association of Educators[6] and most of North Carolina's black political organizations.[7]

Both Wicker and Ealsey pledged to reduce the size of public school classes, eliminate hog waste lagoons, and create a state lottery.[6] In February they differentiated themselves on hog lagoon policy; Easley indicated the attorney general's office would step up its enforcement of pollution controls and punish the owners of polluting lagoons, while Wicker criticized his actions as "too little, too late."[8] Wicker also indicated that he would prefer to use state lottery proceeds to establish a college scholarship fund, while Easley said he would use the funds to reduce elementary school class sizes and expand pre-school education opportunities.[7]

While Wicker had the support of many "establishment" figures in the North Carolina Democratic Party,[9][3] he suffered from a drab public persona which stifled his attempt to gain the support of the public.[3] He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Easley.[9]