A new challenger to Nifong?
A serious write-in candidate will mean the defeat of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong in November.
The N&O reports today that Democratic Durham County Commissioner Lewis Cheek is considering the challenge.
Nifong won the Democratic nomination last month. No Republican filed to run. That gives Nifong a safe route to election, unless someone emerges as a certified write-in candidate.
By November, the biggest case Nifong has handled during his tenure as DA -- the Duke lacrosse rape case -- will have crashed and burned. He has pursued the prosecution despite evidence strongly suggesting that the alleged crime did not occur. It's already apparent that no convictions will result. The only question is whether the case will even go to trial. I doubt it will.
Cheek is a very credible public official. The fact that he is being recruited to run against Nifong as a write-in candidate -- normally an impossiblly uphill proposition -- tells me that the legal community knows Nifong is in trouble. They need a competent replacement as DA.
Addendum, Tuesday: In the meantime, the call for a special prosecutor makes sense. ... although an impartial review might lead to the charges being dropped.