A North Carolina Democrat running for state Senate was arrested for trafficking heroin on Thursday. 

According to the Raleigh News-Observer, Castalia town commissioner Clarence Bender was arrested during a traffic stop.  Nash County and Drug Enforcement Agency officials had been investigating Bender for two months. 

Bender, who was challenging Republican Buck Newton, has been charged with "with three counts of trafficking opium or heroin and maintaining a place for keeping and storage of a controlled substance."

He is being held in jail under a $300,000 bond.