Authorities say a Democratic candidate for the N.C. Senate is in jail on charges that he sold prescription pills from his home.
    
Castalia town commissioner Clarence Alexander Bender was arrested during a traffic stop Thursday by Nash County deputies. Bender is charged with three counts of trafficking opium or heroin and maintaining a place for keeping and storage of a controlled substance.
    
Bender is being held in the Nash County jail under a $300,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
    
Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Wooten said the arrest culminated a two-month investigation involving the Nash County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
    
Bender was challenging Republican incumbent Buck Newton for the 11th District seat, which represents Nash, Wilson and Johnston counties.