Political family growing

Rep. Tricia Cotham will have a new agenda after the legislative session ends this summer.

Cotham is pregnant with her second child. The baby is due this fall.

It will be the second time the Matthews Democrat will have given birth since joining the legislature in 2007. Her son Elliot was born in 2010. Now, like then, she plans to continue her legislative career.

"I do think it's really important mothers and young women to have a voice in the General Assembly," she says. "I bring lots of different experiences to this body."

Cotham is marrited to Jerry Meek, a former chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Her mother Pat chairs the Mecklenburg County board of commissioners.

New GOP bills would curb early voting, public financing

Two new bills filed Thursday would change the way North Carolinians vote.

The state's early voting period would be shortened and Sunday voting eliminated under one bill. The bill from House Majority Leader Edgar Starnes of Caldwell County also would eliminate straight-ticket voting and same-day registration. And it would make non-partisan judicial elections partisan.

The bill could help Republicans.

It would lop a week off the early voting period, which Democrats have used more successfully than Republicans. It would also stop straight-ticket voting. Democrats cast 300,000 more straight tickets than Republicans in 2012. And by ending Sunday voting, it would stop the heavily Democratic "Souls to the Polls" efforts to get voters out after Sunday church services.

A bill introduced by Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville would eliminate public financing of judicial and other statewide races now eligible for it .
 

GOP chairman fight: Outsider v. outsider?

Jack Brosch, a Charlotte businessman who ran for Congress as a tea party candidate last year, calls himself a "New Republican" in the mold of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Now he wants to bring that outsider mentality to North Carolina's Republican Party.

Brosch hopes to get elected state chairman when the GOP meets for its state convention in Charlotte in June. He was prepared to challenge current Chairman Robin Hayes, before Hayes announced he wouldn't run.

Now he expects to face Claude Pope, a former chair of the Wake County GOP and cousin of conservative financier, and now state budget director, Art Pope. Claude Pope's campaign manager is a former executive director of the state party. His spokesman is Gov. Pat McCrory's nephew.

To Brosch, who lost to 12th District Democrat Mel Watt last fall, the choice is clear.

"These things add up to kind of an establishment candidate," he says.

Says Pope: "I see myself very much as an outsider." If elected, he says he would pull together tea party and other conservatives.

"We want to work with all of those organizations to put together the kind of ground work it takes to build a majority," he said.



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North a tea

When North Carolina Republicans meet in Charlotte to pick a new state chairman in June, they'll have a choice of at least two men.

Rock Hill Republican co-chairs 'autopsy'

GOP national chairman Reince Priebus unveiled what he called a party  "autopsy" Monday, a report that presented a candid view of the party's problems and challenges.

Interviews and polls of more than 40,000 Americans provided some sobering feedback. "Asked to describe Republicans," the report said, "they said that the Party is 'scary,' 'narrow-minded,' and 'out of touch' and that we were a Party of 'stuffy old men.'"

The report was the result of the party's "Growth and Opportunity Project." Among the co-chairs: Rock Hill's Glenn McCall, the York County GOP chairman and a former Charlotte banker.

"Personally I did not understand how messaging and tone really mattered, especially to people in ethnic communities," he told me. One example: the issue of immigration, and Mitt Romney's call for "self-deportation" of undocumented immigrants.

"Even the Asian community said our tone and the way we addressed the issue really turned off a lot of their folks because we were not compassionate and caring," McCall said.

 McCall said he's doesn't think the report won't lay on a shelf like so many others. Priebus has already committed $10 million on staff who can help appeal to appeal to young and minority voters.

"I'm confident that this will be a long-term significant commitment on the RNC's part," he said. "We have no other choice. This election has changed the paradigm, with minorities by 2050 really becoming the majority in our country. We have to start somewhere.”

First shot of 2014? Tillis fundraiser features McCrory

Gov. Pat McCrory returned to Charlotte Friday to help House Speaker Thom Tillis raise campaign cash. For what campaign isn't clear.

McCrory was Tillis's guest at the Myers Park Country Club fundraiser that attracted some blue chip Charlotte hosts, including Tim Belk, Smokey Bissell, Tom Nelson, Allen Tate and Ed McMahan.

Tillis, holding himself to self-imposed term limits, has said he's in his last term in the House. But he's on the list of possible Republican candidates to challenger Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014.

Though Tillis couldn't use the state campaign money on a federal campaign, he could use it to get his name out or help other candidates throughout the state, which could help him indirectly.

One sponsor of Friday's fundraiser was Ned Curran, president of Bissell Companies. He said he was supporting Tillis for whatever he needed.

Said Curran: "I think it's part of him having resources for himself or for others to be effective at what he does."

If nominated, he will not run ....

A new poll on North Carolina's 2014 U.S. Senate race had a new name at the top.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest led the potential Republican field of candidates who may take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan next year, according to Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling. It was the first time Forest's name had been included in the survey.

The poll put him at 18 percent, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx at 13% percent, Labor commissioner Cherie Berry at 12 percent and U.S. Renee Ellmers at 10 percent. Senate President Phil Berger was at 8 percent and House Speaker Thom Tillis at 2 percent.


But don't expect Forest to run.   "Never contemplated it, never considered it," said the newly elected lieutenant governor. "I like being lieutenant governor That's not your typical political response is it?"   Forest, the son of former U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, said the poll reflects residual name recognition after last year's statewide campaign.   Along with Berry, he was one of only two of the potential GOP candidates with over 50 percent name recognition. .

Tangle or tango? Foxx and McCrory share a moment

Gov. Pat McCrory, in Charlotte for the second time this week, called out the Observer for a picture it published after his first visit.

It showed a stern-looking McCrory talking to an equally stern-looking Mayor Anthony Foxx. The two are not best friends.

"Mr. Mayor, let's get a picture of us smiling at each other," the governor said.

Here's the result, as worked up by WCNC's Jeremy Markovich.

A return to city council for Sen. Dan Clodfelter?

Veteran North Carolina Sen. Dan Clodfelter may return to where his political career began -- the Charlotte City Council.

"I've given some thought to it," he said in his legislative office Wednesday. "I think there are some important decisions facing the city and they're of interest and concern to me."

Clodfelter would run for one of four at-large seats, all now held by fellow Democrats. He's said he's been asked to run by "a fairly wide range of people," though he declined to say who.

Clodfelter, who served on council from 1987-1993, was once one of the most influential members of the Senate, even chairing the Finance Committee. Like other Democrats, he's seen that influence wane since Republicans took control after the 2010 elections.

He says that's not the reason he's considering a run for council.

"If I were to decide to (run), it would not be about that," he said.

Filing for the November council election opens in July.

McCrory and the other airport controversy

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory appeared to feel right at home Tuesday, meeting with a dozen members of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a group he helped start when he was mayor of Charlotte.

At a news conference at the executive mansion, the mayors stood on a staircase behind him.  I asked the chairman of the group whether the city leaders had taken position on the effort to take control of Charlotte's airport from the city of Charlotte. No, said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane.

Then McCrory offered, "I think this is an issue Charlotte needs to resolve among themselves .... I look forward to hearing the conclusion of the discussion."

One of the mayors standing behind the governor was Terry Bellamy, the mayor of Asheville. She felt blindsided last year by legislation transferring control of the airport there from the city to an authority. Before the news conference, she said, she talked to McCrory about it.

"I told him our business community was just as surprised as our council was," she said. "He was like, you all have to fix it at the local level. It's not a local issue. It's a state issue."

McCrory, Bellamy said, "understands the long-term impact" of the airport.

The governor has said the dispute in Charlotte is between "factions." He's urged lawmakers to slow down a bill that has until recently been on the fast track.

For ex-lawmakers, retirement pays

It pays to be a legislative leader --- even when you're gone.

Or out of prison.

Former leaders head the list of those receiving pensions under North Carolina's Legislative Retirement System.

At the top of the list: former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who served time in prison for corruption. He gets $3,607 a month, according to the state Treasurer's office.

His predecessor, Republican Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, gets $3,444 a month to supplement his income as a lobbyist representing more than a dozen clients including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and GlaxoSmithKline.

Among 260 former lawmakers getting pensions, former Democratic speakers Joe Hackney and Joe Mavretic are also in the Top 10. So is former Senate Democratic leader Marc Basnight.

At least three North Carolina congressmen, all Republicans, are getting legislative pensions. U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx ($686/month); Robert Pittenger ($324) and Walter Jones Jr. ($276.)

Not all pensions are as generous. Former Gov. Jim Holshouser and Irwin Belk of Charlotte, an heir to the department store fortune, served in the General Assembly. Each gets $100 a month.

Here are the top 20 recipients of legislative pensions:

JAMES B BLACK $3,607.30


HAROLD J BRUBAKER $3,444.19

JOE HACKNEY $2,828.02

HENSON P BARNES $2,476.36

MARC BASNIGHT $2,364.42

MARIE W COLTON $2,281.60

JOSEPHUS L MAVRETIC $2,221.75

STEPHEN W WOOD $2,047.10

ROBERT C SOLES JR $2,005.55

CHARLIE S DANNELLY SR $1,951.27

JOHN J HUNT $1,924.89

BETSY L COCHRANE $1,847.82

DONALD R KINCAID $1,829.70

JOHN R GAMBLE JR $1,615.75

FRANK W BALLANCE $1,557.71

AARON E FUSSELL $1,484.02

DAN R SIMPSON $1,483.64

CHARLES F BUCHANAN $1,474.00

AARON W PLYLER $1,474.00

UPDATE: Pittenger donates his monthly state pension to a Charlotte charity, an aide said Wednesday.

Former McCrory aide starts lobbying firm

From 2008 to 2012, through two gubernatorial campaigns and in between, Chris Emanuel traveled the state with with Pat McCrory as the former Charlotte mayor's senior political director. Now, with McCrory in the governor's mansion, Emanuel is starting his own lobbying firm.

The former USAirways pilot is starting the CG Emanuel Group. He hopes to represent clients in Raleigh.

"My experience is over the past five years working with campaigns," he says."I've gotten to know many of the legislators."

Emanuel says he hopes to lobby on issues including education, construction and energy.

Memo-gate update

Blueprint North Carolina continues to catch heat for a series of memos leaked last week to the Observer and WRAL. The memos outlined strategies and talking points for progressives to attack state Republican leaders.

The most incendiary memo called for liberals to weaken the GOP's ability to govern by "crippling their leaders" and to "eviscerate their leadership," even by hiring private investigators.

The story on the memos has gotten a lot of play on conservative blogs and web sites, including the Drudge Report. Monday the N.C. Republican Party filed complaints with the the state board of elections and the IRS, claiming that the group violated its nonprofit status by wading into partisan politics.

Blueprint is a nonprofit that offers what executive director Sean Kosofsky calls "back office" services to other progressive advocacy groups. Kosofsky, who first confirmed his group emailed the memos, later distanced it from the "crippling" memo, saying his group didn't send it out and suggesting that somebody had done a memo mash-up to make his group look bad. 

He did acknowledge having seen the controversial memo at a December meeting of progressive groups. WRAL reporter Mark Binker picked up the story from there.

"Asked it was appropriate for his organization to participate in meetings where such memos are distributed and whether he endorsed all the ideas in the memo," Binker wrote, "Kosofsky replied via email:


"Darn right. C3 nonprofits should absolutely try to stop bad policies that hurt the poor and hurt the environment, women and the middle class. If they need to exploit weaknesses of lawmakers, they should. I stand by that.

"The meeting in December was of over 50 organizations. People bring their own idea. I am not going to claim or distance myself from things without greater context. The only thing that matters to Blueprint is what Blueprint does. I cannot speak for others. We cannot be held to what others do at meetings we are at. that is completely unfair.

"I am not going to cherry pick ideas from that draft plan and say which ones we approve of or disapprove of. I will say this...The stakes are high for the people of NC. This governor and legislature are approving raises for their cabinet while gutting benefits for folks already injured by unemployment. Blueprint and our partners are passionate advocates for policy passed in the public interest, not passed for special interests. Our partners can educate the public, educate lawmakers and absolutely hold them accountable when they vote against the interests of the people of NC. the public should know that charitable groups can and do advocate strongly. they should. Blueprint doesn't lobby or do any public advocacy. This isn't about us at all."

McCrory's unannounced visit

After giving his first State of the State address to a packed General Assembly Monday night, Gov. Pat McCrory took a detour on his way back to the governor's mansion.

McCrory went to Duke University Hospital in Durham and visited Highway Patrol officer Michael Potts, an 11-year veteran who'd been shot during a routine traffic stop Monday, just an hour before McCrory delivered his speech. He spent time with the officer's family while Potts underwent surgery.

Potts was listed in fair condition Tuesday. Police later charged a prison parolee from Vermont with his shooting.

McCrory's visit was unannounced and unpublicized. A spokesman for the governor confirmed it to the Observer.

As mayor of Charlotte, McCrory prided himself on a close relationship with city police. He sometimes rode patrol with them. When he left office in 2009, he recalled a police shooting as his darkest hour. Two police officers, Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton, were shot and killed in 2006.

"That was a very emotional time . .. speaking at that funeral, both funerals," McCrory said at the time. "I didn't think I could make it."

Power shift: Clout grows for Mecklenburg towns

Along with the growing power of Republicans in Raleigh has come another phenomenon: the growing clout of Mecklenburg County's towns and suburbs.

Democrats may still control the county delegation (albeit by one vote) but the real power is on the other side.

Thom Tillis of Cornelius is the House speaker. Rep. Bill Brawley of Matthews, in only his second term, has emerged as a player on big issues like the proposed airport authority and the bid for state money to upgrade Bank of America Stadium.

As co-chair of Senate Finance, Bob Rucho of Matthews is leading the effort to change the state's tax system. And Sen. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius, a freshman who represents five of the county's six small towns, has hit the ground running. He'll be the point man on an issue sure to affect a lot of country residents -- fixing the revaluation mess.

Meanwhile, Democrats from Charlotte are still figuring out how to navigate the legislature in a position still foreign to those who've been around a while, as the minority. Former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black was from Matthews, but was part of a delegation dominated by Charlotte Democrats.

Mecklenburg's bi-partisan delegation?

It's a Democratic-dominated delegation in a Republican-led General Assembly. If you wouldn't expect everything to go perfectly smoothly, you wouldn't be disappointed.

Mecklenburg County's 17-member strong delegation meets Wednesday morning to begin parceling out local bills and looking at local agendas. It will be under the chairmanship of Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat.

But some Republicans had hoped to share the leadership, even though Mecklenburg Democrats outnumber them 9-8.

"Ideally you want your delegation to act in a non-partisan manner for the benefit of Mecklenburg County," says Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican. "So the reason you would have co-chairs .... from each party is you’d have non-partisan leadership."

Brawley and some other Republicans are still chafed that Democrats convened their first delegation meeting in early January, at a time most Republicans had a conflict.

Graham says the group has always worked together, even under one chairman.

"We've always tried to work as a non-partisan group," he says. "Most of the issues locally are non-controversial.... If Bill will just come and participate, he’ll find that his voice will be heard just like everybody else."

Charlotte lawmaker pushes legalized marijuana

Two sessions ago, Democratic Rep. Kelly Alexander co-sponsored a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. It never went anywhere. Now he's trying again.

Alexander and fellow Democrat Pricey Harrison of Greensboro have introduced H. 84, a bill to have North Carolina join 18 other states in allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana.

"Many seriously and chronically ill persons, including many disabled veterans, get relief from their suffering from marijuana," Alexander, of Charlotte, said in a statement. "I cannot understand why we would not give seriously ill patients and veterans anything and everything that gives them relief. Should seriously ill patients be arrested and sent to prison for using marijuana with their doctor's approval?"

Efforts to legalize marijuana for any reason have faced opposition.

The last time Alexander tried it, the head of the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police said such a bill could make people more accepting of other drugs.

UNCC dinner gets a surprise visitor

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Phil Dubois got a surprise visitor Wednesday night when he hosted a dinner in Raleigh for Mecklenburg County's legislative delegation.

Gov. Pat McCrory stopped by to say hello.

"It was really, really nice," said Betty Doster, a special assistant to Dubois. "He's got a great relationship with the chancellor."  

McCrory's visit brought two of the state's top officials to the meeting. House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Cornelius Republican, was there with 14 other county lawmakers.

Dubois was in town ahead of today's UNC Board of Governors meeting. The school is pushing for state help in promoting its data analytics program.

The growing university of 26,000 also has been promoting its regional ties. This week the six UNCC graduates in the state House posed together for a picture. The five men all wore their UNCC green ties.

Jennifer Roberts starts PAC for 2014

Filing for the 2014 elections is year away. But Democrat Jennifer Roberts is getting ready.

The former chairman of the Mecklenburg County commissioners, and unsuccessful candidate for Congress last year, has started a new political action committee. Organizational papers for the "Flowering Dogwood" PAC were filed last month with the state elections board.

Roberts, who lost to Republican Robert Pittenger in the 9th District, won't say what office she has in mind for next year. That, she says, "is still somewhat in the planning stage."

She announced the PAC last week at a reception for around 200 supporters.

"My main message to the supporters is that I'm staying active politically," she says. "I'm really not leaning toward anything at this point. There are a lot of issues I'm concerned about, education, job creation ...

"I think there are many positions and opportunities that would help us move these issues forward."

Roberts warned against reading anything into the fact she registered her PAC in Raleigh, not Washington.

"Because it's a state PAC not a federal PAC doesn't mean I've written that off," she says.

Art Pope resigns more positions

When Art Pope was named Gov. Pat McCrory's budget director in December, he announced his resignation from the board of Americans for Prosperity and the Civitas Institute, a group he helped found. He's given up more positions than that.

Disclosure reports filed Monday with the State Ethics Commission show Pope no longer sits on the board of other groups he did in 2012:

-- The John Locke Foundation

-- The Golden L.E.A.F. Foundation

-- The N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation

-- The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law
-- The N.C. Institute for Political Leadership
-- Real Jobs N.C.

Reports also show that Yolanda Stith, wife of McCrory's chief of staff Thomas Stith, lobbies for several clients including the N.C. Association of Community Development Corporations.

Kevin Spacey and the Giant Peach

South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has a new congressman. At least on TV.

In the new Netflix production "House of Cards" actor Kevin Spacey stars as Francis Underwood, a Democrat from the Palmetto State's 5th District, just over the N.C. line from Charlotte.

Spacey plays House Majority Whip Francis Underwood. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he "controls the levers of power like the strings of marionettes, turning the world's most powerful deliberative body into his own personal puppet show."

Gaffney's famous "Peachoid" reportedly makes a cameo in the third episode.

The 5th District's current congressman is Republican Mick Mulvaney. According to a spokeswoman, Mulvaney hasn't  seen the show yet but plans to.

Mel Watt for Commerce Secretary?

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mel Watt today kept open the door to joining the Obama administration, even though it wasn't the president who opened it.

That would be Rep. Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She wrote President Obama a letter recommending Watt as Secretary of Commerce and Rep. Barbara Lee of California as Labor secretary.

"Both Melvin Watt and Barbara Lee have served the American people in the United States House of Representatives and the citizens of their respective Congressional districts with distinction," Fudge wrote. "Congressman Watt and Congresswoman Lee are exceptionally well-qualified, proven candidates. It is without reservation that I urge you to strongly consider this recommendation."

"It is always an honor when your colleagues think highly enough of your abilities and experiences to nominate you to a Cabinet level position, especially Secretary of Commerce," Watt said in a statement to my colleague Franco Ordonez. "While I would be honored to discuss this recommendation with the White House, my current focus continues to be serving the 12th District of North Carolina and working with leaders to ... strengthen a robust economy."

Protests, contest on tap for GOP meeting in CLT?

Next month's Republican winter meeting in Charlotte could get interesting.

Politico reports that former Congressman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma is considering a challenge to GOP Chairman Reince Priebus. Watt, who is African American, says the party should do more to reach out to minorities.

"(M)y concern is that as a Republican, every single Republican in America ought to be concerned about what has happened in 2008 and 2012,” Watts told Politico. “In this business, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

President Obama won 93 percent of black voters and 70 percent of Latino voters.

Meanwhile, a group posting on a blog called the Daily Paul says it's planning to protest Priebus at the Charlotte meeting. Organizers, who include at least two Charlotte supporters of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, are trying to raise money for a hospitality suite at the meeting. Their complaints appear to stem from the GOP convention in Tampa, where some conservatives felt shut out.

The GOP will hold its meeting at the Westin Hotel from Jan. 23-26.

 

Calling for a foul in final days

First the Walter Dalton campaign. Now the state Republican Party.

Both groups have filed complaints this week with the state elections board about rival campaigns.

First the Dalton campaign alleged that Republican Pat McCrory failed to properly report two campaign flights and illegally accepted a corporate contribution.

Now the state GOP has filed a complaint alleging that Gov. Bev Perdue illegally funneled $99,000 to the Dalton campaign. That's the amount of money that she refunded to donors this year that found its way into the Dalton campaign.

"Their donations should be treated by the SBOE as a contribution from the Perdue campaign to the Dalton campaign," state GOP executive director Scott Laster wrote in the complaint, "and treat it as a contribution that far exceeds the $4,000 limit.

McCrory had a 6-1 financial edge over Dalton according to new reports filed this week.

Myrick supporter's 'Super PAC' boosts her son's candidacy

In the lieutenant governor’s race, a super PAC funded by a supporter of U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick is sponsoring TV ads on behalf of her son, Republican Dan Forest.

Citizens for Accountability started just this month by Charlotte lawyer John Snyder. He funded it with $75,000 from Charlotte businessman David Longo.

This week the PAC spent $61,800 on cable TV ads across the state for Forest, who faces Democrat Linda Coleman.

Longo, president of Carolina Business Interiors, has given Myrick’s campaigns at least $10,800 since 2007. Longo could not be reached.

McCrory raises 3 times as much as Dalton

New reports in North Carolina's governor's race show Republican Pat McCrory has raised $11.6 million, nearly three times as much as Democrat Walter Dalton.

Dalton has raised $3.9 million.

McCrory was boosted by a strong 3rd Quarter, when he raised $5 million. He was boosted by high-profile fundraisers with the likes of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Dalton raised $1.4 million in the quarter.

Dalton had $268,000 on hand on Oct. 20. McCrory had $1.7 million.

Polls have shown McCrory with a double-digit lead in the race to succeed Democrat Bev Perdue.

Obama backer Rogers raising money for Tillis

As co-chair the Charlotte Host Committee, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers was in some ways a face of the Democratic National Convention. He also arranged Duke's $10 million line of credit and gave $10,000 to Barack Obama's campaign.

Now he's helping one of North Carolina's top Republicans.

Rogers is hosting a fundraiser at his Eastover home for House Speaker Thom Tillis of Cornelius.

Tillis expects to use the money to help elect other Republicans to the state House, where he's trying to build a "super-majority."

N.C. Republicans set to ride mcCrory's coattails

Two weeks before the election, Republicans are confident of Pat McCrory's chances to be elected North Carolina's governor. So confident they're already trying to ride his coattails.

McCrory has made robo-calls on behalf of Dan Forest, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor. Forest is the son of one of McCrory's predecessors as Charlotte mayor, now-U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick.

The call, sponsored by the state Republican Party, has gone to voters across the state (and at least one from out of state whose name is still on the N.C. voting rolls.)

"Please give me the lieutenant governor I need to get the job done," McCrory says in the call. "Dan and I have a great working relationship and we share a similar vision for getting North Carolina back to work."

Dan Forest brings undercard race to Charlotte

The race for lieutenant governor rarely gets much attention in North Carolina. In a year when the state that is a presidential battleground and has an open gubernatorial seat, this year is no exception.

But the low profile race would be interesting for a couple reasons.

Republican Dan Forest, 45, is the son of U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte. He spent part of his growing up years in Charlotte public schools.

After graduating from high school in Columbia and starting college at USC, he returned to Charlotte and graduated from UNCC. He's now a retired architect in Raleigh. If former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory wins the gubernatorial race, the state's two top jobs would be in the hands of Republicans with Charlotte ties.

Forest's opponent, Democrat Linda Coleman, 63, would be the first African American woman to hold statewide office in North Carolina.

On Monday Forest spoke to the N.C. League of Municipalities at the Charlotte Convention Center. Coleman, citing scheduling conflicts, did not attend. She'll return Thursday night for a fundraiser in Dilworth.

Forest told the municipal leaders he would focus on tax and regulatory reform as well as education.

But while the lieutenant governor presides over the N.C. Senate, he or she has little concrete power. Forest said he would be "a loud voice for education" and work with what he expects to be GOP majorities in the legislature and a Republican in the governor's office.

"Part of the lieutenant governor's role is to make the governor look good," he said.

Waiting for Obama? Don't count on it

When the threat of rain forced Democratic National Convention organizers to move President Obama's acceptance speech from Bank of America Stadium to Time Warner Cable Arena last month, 65,000 people lost a chance to see history.

Campaign officials promised to try to arrange an event at which the president would meet with the ticket holders before the election.

With less than four weeks left, time is running out. And Thursday, campaign officials wouldn't commit to a presidential visit.

"We don't have any announcements," Obama communications director Brent Colburn said in a conference call with N.C. reporters. "Especially with 26 days we’re fluid about scheduling. There will be more travel to the state, but no specific announcements to make at this time."

Obama national field director Jeremy Bird said the campaign has committed to "principal visits." That's generally understood to include the candidates or their wives.

 

Obama campaign touts N.C. registration numbers

In a memo this morning, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is touting absentee voting and registration numbers in North Carolina and six other battlegrounds.

It says:

-- Republicans are leading in absentee ballot requests, but not by as much as in 2008. This year they lead by 34,000. Four years ago it was 39,000.

-- Democratic registrations have outpaced Republicans by more than 29,000 in the last three months.

-- Latino registration is up 55 percent in four years, to 106,000. Democratic registration among Latinos outnumbers Republicans by nearly 2-1.

The state board of elections could not immediately verify the numbers.

Black caucus backs Democrats -- except one

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Black Political Caucus has endorsed a long list of Democratic candidates from president to county register of deeds. Every Democrat, that is, but one: U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell.

Kissell has angered some African Americans this year for several reasons. He not only voted against President Obama's health care law but voted to repeal it, voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt and said he wouldn't endorse Obama of attend his convention in nearby Charlotte.

Kissell's own 8th District Black Caucus withdrew its support and many of its members are supporting an African American write-in. The two Democrats face Republican Richard Hudson.

A spokeswoman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Caucus said Kissell just didn't get the votes required for an endorsement.

Poll: Obama ahead among N.C. registered voters

A new N.C. poll conducted by High Point University found that President Barack Obama has a slight lead among the state's registered voters.

The survey, released Thursday, found that 46 percent of N.C. registered voters said they would now vote for Democrat Obama. Those favoring Republican Mitt Romney: 43 percent.

That's a reversal of the previous High Point University Poll, in early September, which found Romney ahead of Obama, 46 percent to 43 percent.

In the new poll, participants were also asked whether they approved or disapproved of the way Obama is handling his job as president. Forty-nine percent said they approved; 47 said they disapproved.

The margin of error in the latest poll: 4.7 percent.

-- Tim Funk  

McCrory 101: Chris Christie's homework

So what does a candidate give a Big Name surrogate who comes to town to campaign for him? How about a crash course on his campaign?

That's what Pat McCrory's campaign is doing for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Christie, fresh off his star turn as keynoter at the Republican convention, comes to the Charlotte area Thursday for a pair of events. He'll headline an afternoon rally in Salisbury and attend a Charlotte fundraiser for McCrory that night.

According to a draft "talking points" memo, the McCrory campaign wants to make sure Christie knows:

-- McCrory was Charlotte's longest-serving mayor "helped build the arena where the Democrats are holding.... their convention."

--The man who "worked with leaders of both parties to turn Charlotte into an economic powerhouse" wants to reform taxes and reduce regulations to bring jobs.

-- His opponent, Democrat Walter Dalton, "doesn't believe NC's government is broken.... how can he be part of the solution?" Dalton, it says, raised taxes as a state senator and would raise the sales tax. (Dalton has said he would not include a sales tax hike in his first budget, but didn't rule out an eventual hike.)

McCrory's campaign also would offer Christie advice on tax returns. Dalton has pushed for McCrory to release his.

"Pat McCrory's opponent is trying to distract from his record ... by demanding Pat release his personal income tax returns," the memo said. "The only taxes voters are concerned about are the ones Walter Dalton wants to increase on them if elected."

Obama strategist: 'Why pull out?'

A day after Mitt Romney's pollster suggested the Obama campaign is setting the stage for a pullout from North Carolina, an Obama campaign official shot down the idea.

"Put yourself in our shoes," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "Why would you ever pull out of a state where you're tied? A state that is an absolute must-win for Romney."

A poll this week by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm out of Raleigh, showed the race essentially tied in North Carolina. Other polls have given Romney a slight edge.

The Democratic convention helped the Obama campaign sign up thousands of volunteers who put in more than 50,000 hours of volunteer work, the official said. It has 50 field offices in the state. He expects those efforts to pay off.

"We know exactly what we need to do to be successful," he said. "And we have goals every single day to make sure we stay on that roadmap."

Gallup: DNC helped Obama more than RNC helped Romney

New Gallup numbers out today show that President Obama got more support out of last week's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte than Republican Mitt Romney did from his convention in Tampa.

According to Gallup, 43 percent of Americans said they were more likely to support Obama because of the convention. That compares to 40 percent who said they were more likely to vote for Romney after the GOP convention.

Thirty-eight percent said they were less likely to vote for each man after their respective conventions.

Democrats shouldn't be too smug.

In 1988, 56 percent of Americans said they were more likely to vote for Democrat Michael Dukakis after his convention. Only 43 percent said the GOP convention made them more likely to vote for Republican George H.W. Bush. Remember who won that race.

Speaking of numbers, Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm out of Raleigh, is out with a new poll that shows Obama leading Romney 49 percent to 48 percent in North Carolina. That's consistent with other PPP surveys, but contrary to polls by Elon University and others that show Romney with a slight edge in the state.

PPP did find that 57 percent of N.C. voters say the convention was a good thing for the state.

The lonely demonstrator

Outside the Charlotte Convention Center, on a street crowded with Democratic delegates, reporters and button vendors, Lew Powell is waging a quiet, one-man campaign.

In his floppy hat and sunglasses, he stands their holding a hand-stenciled sign that says, "Exonerate Edenton 7."

What?

The Edenton 7 were North Carolinians associated with a day care center called Little Rascals in Edenton. They were prosecuted in the early 1990s over sexual abuse charges in a case that was highly publicized. Some charges were dropped, convictions were later overturned.

What concerns Powell, a former editorial page staffer at the Observer, is that the seven have never been pardoned or officially exonerated. He's taken on the cause virtually single-handedly, even starting a web site about the case.

"The in justice of it just got me," he said, holding his sign on the street. The way the system bullied people who were completely innocent... and no one will admit they were wrong."

So Powell will carry his sign during the convention, hoping to raise at least a little awareness of the case.

"I'm almost 68 years old," he says, "And this is the first time I've ever held a protest sign."

Paul Ryan going to Greenville Monday

While Democrats continue gathering in Charlotte Monday, half of the Republican ticket will be on the other side of North Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP's vice presidential nominee, will visit East Carolina University in Greenville, 230 miles away. It will be his third trip to the state since Mitt Romney named him to the ticket last month.

"We're going to make sure the people of North Carolina and America have a response to the fantasyland world that the Democrats will try to portray in Charlotte," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told USA Today.

Spratt, Ryan: Mutual regard has limits

Toward the end of the last meeting of the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission in December 2010, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan asked for the floor.

"I think this is the last time I'll be sitting at a table with my friend, John Spratt," he announced. "And you're a great guy, John, and it's been a real privilege to serve in Congress with you. We haven't agreed on everything but you have my respect, and I just want to say thank you for what you've done for our country."

Spratt, a Democrat, represented South Carolina's 5th District for 28 years and chaired the House Budget Committee before losing re-election in 2010. He was replaced on the budget panel by Ryan, who had been ranking minority member.

Spratt calls the Wisconsin congressman "bright, energetic and affable."

"I would regard him as a friend (but) one I disagree with vigorusly," Spratt says. "I was surprised to see (Mitt) Romney pick him because he brings not just Paul Ryan, who is personally attractive, but all his ideology on board."

Spratt was a major player in the negotiations that led to the 1997 balanced budget amendment, the first in generations and still the last. He worked with then budget chairman John Kasich, an Ohio Republican. He says Kasich did something Ryan would not -- compromise.

"He wants to do it his way," Spratt said of Ryan. "He doesn't want anything that can be construed as additional taxes or revenues in the package."

But Spratt, who had a reputation as a moderate, says Ryan's selection means a debate over substance.

"That will be the thing you hear about for the next two months," he says. "They've certainly brought front and center the key fiscal issues of our time: What would you do with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid....

"In the final analysis, the biggest concern is whether Ryan can make the bipartisan moves necessary to put the budget on an even keel. In this respect his vote against Simpson-Bowles is not encouraging, it certainly does not cast him in the role of a bridge builder."

Paul Ryan surprises Sunday morning worshipers at St. Gabe's

Greeting early morning worshippers at St. Gabriel's Catholic Chuch Sunday, Rev. Andre Mangango noticed the strangers with dark glasses and ear phones.

Then he realized the reason they were there: A Secret Service contingent escorting Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's newly named running mate.

Ryan went to the south Charlotte church before he and Romney headed off by bus for rallies in Mooresville and High Point.

In a blog post this afternoon, diosesan spokesman David Hains quoted Mangango:

"He walked up to me and said, 'I am Representative Paul Ryan and this is my son.' I welcomed him to the church, congratulated him on being chosen and told him that we would be praying for him."

Ryan is the first Catholic on GOP ticket since William Miller in 1964. According to the National Journal, his selection also marks the first time that a presidential ticket will not include at least one Protestant. With Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, it also guarantees the first vice presidential debate between two Catholics.

St. Gabe's was still buzzing about the appearance at the 10:45 mass. Parishioner Simon Tsai was in the congregation when the priest anounced that the early service had a surprise visitor.

"The whole parish just applauded sponstaneously," Tsai recalled. "You can tell the enthusiasm.”


Tsai, a businessman, was impressed himself.


"It surprises me that he actually went to mass, especially when it's not a photo op," he said. "It's not just for show.”

Mitt Romney stopping in Mooresville Sunday

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will begin a day-long bus tour of North Carolina Sunday in Mooresville.

The candidate is expected to make other stops in the Piedmont Sunday though no details were available.

It will be the first of two Romney visits to the Charlotte area next week. He's scheduled to appear at a fundraiser Wednesday at Charlotte's Duke Mansion.

GOP chairman calls in cavalry for NC

Who says North Carolina isn't a battleground state?

Republican national Chairman Reince Priebus will appear at GOP headquarters in Cornelius Saturday to announce a coordinated effort in North Carolina with party officials from Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia.

The effort is "sure to go a long way toward turning the state red in November," Priebus said in a statement.

The occasion is part of what Republicans are calling their second "Super Saturday," a sort of dress-rehearsal for this fall's get-out-the-vote efforts.

RNC spokeswoman Rachel Adams said hundreds of volunteers across the state, operating from 20 GOP "Victory" offices, will reach thousands of voters through direct visits and phone calls.

The Obama campaign says it has more than 30 offices in North Carolina.

Man who seconded Barack Obama's 2008 nomination stumps in NC for Mitt Romney

When Artur Davis stumped for Democrat Larry Kissell in Charlotte in 2006, he was a rising Democratic star. The Alabama congressman was vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. An African American with a law degree from Harvard, he was an up-and-comer.

In 2008, he was the first congressman outside Illinois to publicly back then-Sen. Barack Obama, who would become a confidant. He went on to second the nomination of his fellow Harvard law graduate at the Democratic convention in Denver.

So how did the 44-year-old Davis come to campaign in North Carolina Thursday for Republican Mitt Romney?

After losing a 2010 bid for governor of Alabama, Davis moved to suburban Washington to practice law. Last May, he announced he was switching parties.

"I made a decision that on every single issue we’re debating in the country right now, what Republicans were saying made more sense to me than what Democrats were saying," he said by phone during a swing through eastern North Carolina.

"I saw a Democratic solution that always amounted to 'Let's take more money from people that are successful and grow the footprint of government... That became the two-pronged, all-purpose solution to every economic problem."

When running for governor in 2010, Davis was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against President Obama's health care bill. He joined 33 other Democrats, including Kissell.

Coincidently Thursday, the N.C. Democratic Party launched a new anti-Romney web site: MittAmerica.com.

The flip side for Larry Kissell?

Democratic U.S. Rep Larry Kissell has been getting hammered from both sides lately.

On the one hand, Republicans running for his seat have bashed him. So have African American activists in his 8th District, who went so far last week as to announce a write-in candidate to replace him.

But Kissell also claims the support of a group unlikely to support many Democratic candidates. The campaign features them on a web site called conservativesforkissell.com.

It includes testimonials from registered Republicans like Roddey Dowd Jr., the Charlotte industrialist who recently hosted Mitt Romney at his Charlotte Pipe and Foundry plant. "Principle always trumps convenience," Down says in a blurb on the site.

The list includes CEOs and business owners. And people like Timothy Rowe, a tax accountant from Wingate.

“I am 70 years old and have been a registered Republican my entire life and voted in every election," he says on the site. "Congressman Kissell is the first Democrat I would vote for and support financially.... I appreciate his commitment to our armed services families."

With a lot of Republicans gunning for him, and many Democrats opposing him, Kissell needs all the help he can get.

Huckabee endorses Pittenger (after saving his life)

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has endorsed 9th District congressional candidate Robert Pittenger. It's not the first favor the former Arkansas governor has done for him.

In 2008 Pittenger, then a candidate for lieutenant governor, was on the dais eating lunch at the state GOP convention in Greensboro. Rep. Howard Coble, who was sitting next to him, cracked a joke. When Pittenger started laughing, part of his lunch lodged in his throat.

Huckabee, on other end, heard the commotion and rushed over, performing a Heimlich maneuver that cleared Pittenger's throat.

"To me this is just typical Mike Huckabee," Pittenger said at the time. "He's just a decent fun guy who cares about people."

Pittenger critics question 2003 vote, and promise

Republican Jim Pendergraph is calling for a federal investigation over 9th District opponent Robert Pittenger's 2003 Senate vote that involved property he owned at the time.

And the Waxhaw town commission is asking Pittenger to donate land he promised to that same year.

Pendergraph called for a federal probe into what he called "the apparent case of public corruption" involving Pittenger's 2003 vote. Pittenger, then in the Senate, voted on a bill that annexed property owned by a partnership he led into the town of Waxhaw. The property's value increased as a result.

"We are confident that fair mined people will reject his last minute slanders and smears," said Pittenger spokesman Brian Mullis. "The simple truth is that this issue was reviewed by a Democrat-controlled independent legislative ethics committee five years ago, and nothing came of it."

Meanwhile the town manager of Waxhaw sent Pittenger a letter asking, in effect: Where's our land?

In 2003 Pittenger told town officials he was giving them 30 acres of land for a park or possible school site. According to the town, and deeds, the tract was never transferred.


  

"The council felt where is this land that belongs to the town of Waxhaw, to the people, and lo and behold it has not been transferred," said Mayor Pro Tem Erin Kirkpatrick.

Pittenger's campaign had no immediate response. It released a 2003 letter from the then-mayor thanking him for the land donation.

UPDATE: From Pittenger campaign spokesman Brian Mullis: "We have given public notice of a gift. (Former Mayor Jack) Hemby didn’t request a deed at the time because it was unknown of the future use or location of the property. We are happy to provide further assurance if needed to the Town and the County, agreed to by Mr. Hemby and Robert Pittenger."

Outside money pours into 8th District

The 8th Congressional District was already one of the biggest recipients of outside money in North Carolina. Now it's one of the biggest in the country.

Today a group called the American Action Network is dropping $300,000 into TV ads targeting Republican Scott Keadle. He faces Richard Hudson in Tuesday's GOP runoff. The Network is one of two party establishment groups helping Hudson, a former Capitol Hill staffer, in the runoff.

The YG Action Group, associated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, has poured in more than $400,000 on Hudson's behalf this month alone.

But Keadle isn't defenseless.

The Club for Growth has spent around $700,000 on ads supporting him and opposing Hudson.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, only three districts in the country have seen more outside spending.