Sanford Becomes N.C. Senator

With 1,500 supporters looking on, Democrat Terry Sanford was sworn in as North Carolina’s junior senator today, calling on the nation to replace its “little battlefield in Central America” with a “kind of Marshall Plan.”

Sanford, who was sworn in on the Senate steps of the Capitol, will serve out the remaining 25 days of Republican John P. East’s term before being sworn in again Jan. 6 as a member of the 100th Congress. East committed suicide June 29. In a news conference Sanford told reporters that the Iran- contra controversy could show people that President Reagan is “not infallible” and end the atmosphere of “mild intimidation” that has kept some lawmakers from opposing the President.