John Ross Hendrix, candidate for U.S. Senate, announced today his withdrawal from the U.S. Senate contest.  Mr. Hendrix is endorsing Jim Neal in the May 6 primary for the Democratic nomination.

Hendrix, a Veteran of the 82d Airborne Division, and former Republican, who left the party in disgust in 2006, announced his endorsement after a meeting with Neal and his campaign staff.

“The need to consolidate Democratic efforts toward completing the ‘regime change’ vastly outweighs any personal ambition,” said John Ross Hendrix.  ”I will do whatever I can to insure Jim Neal’s election to the Senate. Mr. Neal will make an excellent advocate for the people of North Carolina and any differences we have in political philosophy are easily reconcilable. I will keep my web site open and use it as a commentary, pulling no punches. At the same time, my sights are already leveled on Richard Burr and the 2010 Senate race.”

“I am honored to be endorsed by my former Democratic challenger, John Ross Hendrix.  Mr. Hendrix ran an honorable campaign and I commend him for taking the opportunity to run for the US Senate.  It takes a great deal of courage to run for public office, and John should be recognized,” Jim Neal says.

Jim Neal’s principal opponent in the May 6th Democratic Primary is State Senator Kay Hagan.  The winner of the primary will challenge Sen. Elizabeth Dole in November’s General Election.

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The grandson of a carpenter, public school teacher and two mill workers, Jim Neal was born in Greensboro in 1956, where he attended public school. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978. Following graduation he joined Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst.  He returned to school at the University of Chicago, where he earned an MBA and worked a series of part-time jobs to pay his way through school.

As an investment banker at Salomon Brothers, Neal earned a reputation for leadership and innovative strategies while advising Fortune 500 companies on how to play successful roles in a changing global economy.   He also worked as a senior investment banker with E.F Hutton and Bear Stearns, serving clients that ranged from Bank of America and American Express to Lincoln National Corporation and Transamerica.

For the past two decades, Neal has focused his career on information technology and healthcare companies, including serving as chief executive officer of RxMarketplace.com, a start-up firm that helped pharmacists offer patients prescription drugs at more affordable prices. Since 2000, Neal has led several private companies prior to founding The Agema Group, a financial advisory firm based in Chapel Hill.

Neal has continued his active involvement in nonprofit groups and political initiatives. A member of the Board of Governors of the New School from 2002 to 2006, he also served as a national finance committee member for Wes Clark for President and the Kerry-Edwards campaigns, as well as acting as a national fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles in 2004.

Neal has served his community as an overnight volunteer at a homeless shelter, a lay minister to mentally ill residents of an assisted-care facility, and a sponsor of a post-war Vietnamese refugee family in alliance with the International Rescue Committee.

Neal lives in Chapel Hill with the younger of his two sons, Winston. The oldest, James, is currently working in New York City.