The Rev. Mark Harris announced on Thursday that he'll seek the
Republican nomination to challenge North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan.
Harris is the senior pastor of Charlotte's First Baptist Church
and the outgoing president of the Baptist State Convention of North
Carolina.
He made his announcement to supporters gathered at a hotel outside
Winston-Salem.
“When I look at the vacuum of leadership that's being seen at so
many levels, there's a deep cry from people across our country for
leaders to stand up,” Harris told the AP.
Last year, as North Carolina debated a successful amendment which
makes it unconstitutional for the state to recognize gay and lesbian
couples with marriage or civil unions, the Baptist State Convention,
under Harris' leadership, approved a resolution in support of the
amendment.
The non-binding statement suggested that gay nuptials would hurt
the family, children and North Carolina's reputation and “economic
viability.” It also called on the state's churches to “pray
faithfully against the legalization of same-sex marriages or marriage
substitutes in American law.”
Harris told the Charlotte
Observer that “From a biblical position, all I can do is
state my position: I believe that homosexuality is a sin.”