RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley will soon announce her plan to run for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

Advisers close to her say she'll enter the race in early April. She'll join a growing field of Democrats looking to fill an open seat being left by Republican Sen. Richard Burr in 2022. Beasley will join the contest after having recently lost her chief justice election bid. 

Backers of her prospective campaign believe she'll be a strong contender. Beasley holds a competitive edge as the only Democratic candidate in the race to have won a statewide election.

There are currently no Black women in the Senate.