NAGS HEAD, N.C. — On December 28, Manteo resident, former state senator and longtime North Carolina Senate president pro tempore Marc Basnight died. He was 73 years old.
Basnight, a democrat, was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1985, where he went to represent the state's first district until 2011. He was elected to lead that chamber, as the president pro tempore, between 1993 and 2011.
District one included Currituck, Dare, Hyde and Pasquotank counties.
Basnight was also a longtime member of the Dare County tourism bureau, and owned the Lone Cedar Cafe in Nag's Head.
The Marc Basnight Bridge, named after the former senator, stretches across Oregon Inlet along NC-12.
His passing spurred a statement from Gov. Roy Cooper Monday night.
"North Carolina lost a giant today with the passing of my friend, Senator Marc Basnight," Cooper wrote.
The governor noted "his positive influence" on the state, and said he was "a man of great power and influence," who maintained a "humble, common touch."