In public and behind the scenes, there’s a lot of movement on both sides of the aisle as candidates prepare to enter the race to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, setting up competitive primaries and a general election race in 2022. Sources confirm that former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has hired a new campaign consultant and is preparing to announce her entry into the Democratic primary. Other sources close to former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory confirm that McCrory has taken initial steps to run later this year.