Richard Burr Backs deFaria to Contest Debbie Wasserman Schultz

While he has represented North Carolina in Washington since winning a congressional seat in the 1994 election cycle and moved up to the Senate a decade later, Richard Burr has not had the high profile of some recent legislators from the Tarheel State like Jesse Helms, John Edwards and even Heath Shuler who had more success in Washington as a congressman than he ever did as quarterback for the Redskins.

Still, while Burr may not be a household name, he is flexing his political muscles a bit in the Sunshine State. On Monday, Burr announced that he was backing Ozzie deFaria for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, best known for her leadership of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Burr pointed to deFarias record in the private sector in his endorsement.

"Ozzie deFaria has the real-world experience we need in Congress to fix our nation's broken budget and get our economy back on track, Burr said on Monday. As a successful business leader who has helped create jobs, Ozzie knows how to streamline the federal budget and make our government more efficient. I have no doubt that Ozzie will be a strong, consistent conservative voice for the reforms we need at the federal level to eliminate our national debt, lower taxes, and reduce government waste."