BY MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
RICHMOND, VA. — Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declined Tuesday to withdraw his name from speculation as Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate.
Asked on a Washington radio show whether he would issue a “Shermanesque” statement, Kaine replied: “I will not issue any statement. I came on board with Senator Obama to help him. [...]

NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) – Both major-party candidates for governor say they’re committed to building more prisons and raising prosecutors’ salaries if elected in November.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory spoke separately Tuesday to the North Carolina Sheriffs Association annual meeting in New Bern.
In a news release, McCrory accused Perdue [...]

WASHINGTON (AP) – As speculation swirls, Barack Obama and John McCain are knuckling down to the work of choosing running mates with their nominating conventions just weeks away.
Current and former governors and senators seem the most serious contenders, though most of those mentioned are playing coy about any discussions with either campaign.

Elizabeth Dole 49
Kay Hagan 40
Christopher Cole 4
According to Public Policy Polling, the race between Hagan and Dole changed based on who was spending ad dollars.

“Now with neither of them spending much money the race has stabilized at a nine point Dole lead, which seems like a reasonable baseline as the general election campaign really commences.”
The [...]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., will skip the Republican National Convention in September.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that spokeswoman Katie Hallaway confirmed on Monday that Dole won’t attend the convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Hallaway said Dole has a busy week in North Carolina, and when there is a break in [...]

The L.A. Times reports:  The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.
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CHICAGO (AP) – With 100 days remaining in the race for the White House, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama says he has succeeded in expanding the electoral map in his race against John McCain, principally in southern and southwestern states but also in Montana and North Dakota.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win all those [...]

CHICAGO (AP) – Presidential candidate John McCain has endorsed a proposal to ban affirmative action programs in his home state, a policy that Democratic rival Barack Obama called a disappointing embrace of divisive tactics.
In the past, McCain has criticized such ballot initiatives.
In an interview that aired Sunday, McCain was asked whether he supported an effort [...]