by Amy Kingsley
Yes! Weekly

To honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Democratic candidate for US Senate Jim Neal joined other politicians and congregants in the vaulted nave of Greensboro’s St. James Presbyterian Church for an ecumenical service.

The service followed four previous King day events, including a pre-dawn prayer breakfast in Charlotte, and a weekend of barnstorming tied to the holiday. One of his first stops on Jan. 19 was the Man Up Conference at NC Central University, a historically black college in Durham. The overarching message of the event, he said, stressed perseverance.

“Don’t give up,” Neal said. “If you can’t knock on a door, or you can’t open one, then build one.”

A similar ethic fuels Neal’s candidacy. Neal, a former investment banker and fundraiser for presidential candidates John Kerry and Wes Clark, is one of the top two Democratic challengers for the seat currently held by Republican Elizabeth Dole, quite a feat, considering his political inexperience. The other is NC Sen. Kay Hagan, a veteran lawmaker who represents Greensboro.

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