McCrory still leads Perdue in new poll

Last month's indictments against three supporters of her 2008 campaign hasn't hurt Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue much, according to a new poll. According to polling director Tom Jensen, that's because she "really didn't have a lot more room to drop."

The poll by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found Perdue trailing Republican Pat McCrory 50 percent to 40 percent. That's barely changed since a survey last month before the indictments against her former campaign finance director and two others.

"The good news for North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue is that she has not been harmed yet by the indictments to her 2008 campaign staff that came down last week," Jenson said in a release. "The bad news is she is still underwater with voters and facing a double-digit deficit to likely Republican opponent Pat McCrory."

But there was good news for Perdue. In a Democratic primary, she would beat state Rep. Bill Faison of Chapel Hill, a critic who has talked about challenging her, by 32 points.

Party candidate hosts fundraiser -- while he still can

State Rep. Bill Faison, who is running hard for the chairmanship of the N.C. Democratic Party, will host a party fundraiser tonight -- while he still can.

Faison, of Orange County, is organizing a fundraiser at state party headquarters tonight. Co-sponsors include 14 Democratic legislators. Invited guests include Gov. Bev Perdue, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and other state officials.

In the invitation, Faison said he was having the fundraiser to beat a ban on lawmakers raising money from lobbyists and political action committees. Legislators are barred from doing that once the session starts next week.

"I will be hosting a fundraiser aimed at PACs and Lobbyists to raise money for the North Carolina Democratic Party," Faison wrote. "As many of you know, ethics laws were passed a few years ago to significantly crack down on improper contributions to members of the General Assembly ... To make sure that this will not hurt my ability to serve you as the next Party Chair I decided to get their money in early."

Faison is running against Statesville lawyer David Parker and party activist Dannie Montgomery of Anson County. The election is Jan. 29.