Former state Treasurer Richard Moore (D) said this week that he has no plans to mount a challenge against Sen. Richard Burr (R) in what should be another lively Senate race in the Tar Heel State this cycle.

Moore, who lost in a Democratic gubernatorial primary last cycle, was one of several Democrats who have been floated as potential challengers to the first-term Senator, who won by just 5 points in 2004. Other Democrats who are being closely watched for the Senate race are state Attorney General Roy Cooper and 11th district Rep. Heath Shuler.

If both men appear set to run, it will be interesting to see whether Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (N.J.) will step in to head off a high-profile primary battle. North Carolina is a once-solidly conservative state that surged for President Barack Obama late in the 2008 cycle. After Obama’s performance in the state and Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D) victory last year, Democrats have high hopes for another big win statewide in 2010.