CHAPEL HILL,  -- A replacement has been chosen to fill an Orange County state senator's seat.Current state Representative Valerie Foushee was chosen by the Democratic Party Sunday night to fill the vacancy left when state Senator Ellie Kinnaird stepped down last month.

Gov. Pat McCrory must finalize the appointment, but that is considered a formality.

The 81 year old said controversial legislation passed by the Republican led General Assembly drove her to abruptly resign from the Senate in the middle of her ninth term. Kinnaird says she plans to get involved in efforts to make sure people have the proper identification to comply with new elections laws passed this year.

Foushee is a first term lawmaker who serves Durham and Orange counties representing House District 50. This will require the same process to take place to fill her position in the state house.

She will fill out the remainder of Kinnaird's term through the end of 2014.

Political observers have also pointed to Kinnaird’s resignation as part of the growing frustration by Democrats, who are in the minority in both house of the General Assembly and also lost the Governor’s Mansion and the Lieutenant Governor’s office in the 2012 elections. Kinnaird had been viewed as one of the leading voices for liberal and women’s issues in the legislature.