RALEIGH, N.C. – If early numbers are any indication it looks like North Carolina is due
for some very close political races in 2010.

On the generic ballot for the state legislature Republicans lead 45-44 and when it comes
to Congress it’s an almost equally close 45-43 Republican advantage.

Republicans are faring well for two key reasons. First, they have a significant edge with
independents. On the legislative ballot they have a 48-27 lead with them and on the
Congressional one it’s 48-29. Second, GOP voters are more unified heading into 2010
than Democrats are. On the legislative ballot 88% of Republicans commit to voting for
their party while only 79% of Democrats do. When it comes to Congressional voting the
figures are 90% and 77% for the two parties.

One reason the state looks so competitive for next year is that suburban swing voters,
who tended to go Democratic last year, have now shown a shift back toward Republicans.

They say they’ll vote for GOP legislative candidates by a 50-40 margin.

“The way things are shaping up there is a real chance Republicans could take control of
the legislature in North Carolina next year,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public
Policy Polling. “It’s important for Democratic voters not to be complacent because if
they don’t show up at the polls there could be real consequences for the party for the next
decade if the GOP gets a hold of the redistricting process.”

PPP will release numbers tomorrow looking at voter perceptions about corruption in
North Carolina and how that issue has shifted over the last few decades.

PPP surveyed 711 North Carolina voters from November 9th to 11th. The survey’s
margin of error is +/-3.7%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and
weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – A former state senator said Tuesday he won’t seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year despite spending months traveling the state and testing out a campaign.

Cal Cunningham, a Lexington attorney and Army reservist who served in Iraq, confirmed he wrote a Facebook message to supporters saying he had “concluded that this is the wrong race at the wrong time for me and my family.”

Cunningham, 36, had been exploring a bid since the spring, making the rounds of Democratic Party rallies and dinners. Time away from home appears to have played a role in his decision.

“I also owe it to my family – before committing us to a hard year – to be a husband and father first,” Cunningham wrote. “Here on the eve of Veterans Day, I am reminded of the over 900 days our family has been separated because of active military service in the last few years. Today, I choose to be home.”

At least three Democrats already have said they’re seeking the nomination, including North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. Another potential Democratic candidate – U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge of Lillington – has been expected to announce a decision for weeks.

Etheridge, a seventh-term congressman who this year joined the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was expected to unveil his decision last weekend. But he delayed it because he couldn’t get home as the House voted on the health care bill, according to Jason Sulham, an Etheridge spokesman.

“He now expects to make a decision by the end of this week,” Sulham wrote.

Cunningham was elected to the state Senate in 2000 but didn’t run two years later because changing legislative boundaries had made his district too Republican for him to win. Kenneth Lewis of Durham and Frank Deaton II of Charlotte also have filed federal campaign documents indicating they’ll run in May’s Democratic primary. Marshall ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate nomination in 2002.

Several other Democrats – Attorney General Roy Cooper and Rep. Heath Shuler among them – considered the race but ultimately declined.

Burr, a former congressman who defeated Democrat Erskine Bowles in 2004 for his current seat, had nearly $3.5 million in his campaign coffers as of Sept. 30.

Lewis reported his campaign had $184,000 on the same date, while Marshall, who announced her bid Sept. 9, reported $164,000, according to federal election filings. Deaton didn’t organize his campaign officially until early October.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr says a new health care proposal offered in Congress “fails several crucial tests.”

The Republican lawmaker rejected the bill Wednesday despite Democratic concessions on a public insurance option. He said he opposed the measure because of increased spending, taxes and cuts to Medicare.

Burr had long opposed President Barack Obama’s plan to create a government insurance option to compete with private carriers. The latest Democratic plan released by Sen. Max Baucus does not include such a plan but instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives – something Burr had previously said he would consider.

North Carolina’s other senator, Democrat Kay Hagan, supports the bill. She released the following statement:

“Last week, I joined a group of other moderate Democrats who discussed with the President the importance of ensuring the health care reform package is fiscally responsible. I am pleased the Finance Committee produced a bill that does not increase our deficit.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will reduce our federal deficit by $49 billion over the next ten years. I also commend Chairman Max Baucus for working hard with our colleagues across the aisle to include Republican input in the bill.

“I am very supportive of the insurance market reforms in the Finance bill, which are similar to those that we passed in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  It prevents insurance companies from turning you away due to a preexisting condition, removes annual and lifetime caps on coverage, and removes co-pays for preventative services.

“The Finance Committee bill also includes a CO-OP model, one backstop option for providing insurance to those without employer-sponsored care. I would like to see a backstop option included in the final bill.

“While there are many details that still need to be worked out, we ultimately need health insurance reform that ensures people who like their insurance and doctors keep them, expands access to health insurance for those without it, and slows down the skyrocketing cost of health care.  I am committed to working with my Senate colleagues to ensure these critical components are included in the final bill.”

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – North Carolina’s two senators plan to meet with military leaders to discuss past water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan will meet with leaders this afternoon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –

Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) issued the following statement on the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy:

“I was deeply saddened to hear the news of Senator Ted Kennedy’s passing.  While we did not always see eye to eye on the issues of the day, he was a devoted and ardent champion of the causes he believed in.  I enjoyed the opportunities I had to work with him on issues that we shared a passion for, particularly our ongoing efforts to strengthen our nation’s public health system.  Brooke and I extend our thoughts and prayers to Vicki and the Kennedy family.”

U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) today commented on the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who died late Tuesday.

“Ted Kennedy went out of his way to make me feel welcome, giving me incredible advice about how to work in a bipartisan and congenial manner with all of our colleagues in the Senate,” Hagan said. “He truly cared about fostering a sense of community and connecting with his fellow Senators, regardless of any political disagreements they might have.

“Ted Kennedy devoted his entire life – nearly 47 years of it in the Senate – to helping America’s working families. Last night, our country lost a true public servant.

“My family and I want to extend our thoughts and prayers to his wife Vicki, his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews during this extremely difficult time.”

The debate over health care reform hits the air with a television ad targeting Senator Richard Burr and other Republicans who’ve spoken out against the current Democratic reform proposals.

Two groups, “Health Care For America Now” and the “American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees” have launched an ad campaign that points out Members of Congress receive good health care through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

The ad then calls into question Senator Richard Burr’s loyalty to health care reform or the insurance company lobbyists.”People like Senator Burr are not sitting down at the table and being a partner for health reform.  He’s going over platitudes, but not sitting down and negotiating the details of the bills,” said Adam Linker, a health reform advocate with the NC Justice Center.

Linker’s  group has partnered with Health Care For America Now in North Carolina.

Senator Richard Burr drafted his own ideas of reform in the Patient Choice Act.

His campaign staff countered the ad with this statement: “The Union backed ad is misleading and is designed to divert attention away from the public’s outcry against the government first plan beig pushed by liberals i Washigto. Senator Burr’s bill ‘The Patient Choice Act’ undermines this labor union’s effort to institute a government controlled healthcare system. We are not surprised they would resort to distorting his efforts of keeping people in control of their own health care.”

Senator Burr told NBC 17 News on Friday he had concerns with empowering the Health and Human Services Secretary to mandate rules for private industry.

“We allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to decide what the competition looks like, if you’re allowed to do that, it can go anywhere.  So I can’t make the claim that choice continues to exist in the system.  Choice is youo are willing to except something that might be cost prohibitive or that doesn’t have the benefits you are looking for,” said Burr.

On the other side, Linker said “We need the private market invovled, but we need to set some minimum standards for them to compete so no people asrte dropped from their plan when they get sick.  At it’s core, health care reform is about consumer protection.”

HAMLET, N.C.  – Republican Sen. Richard Burr says making a mistake in the nation’s health care overhaul will impact rural communities first.

Burr took part in a town hall meeting Monday with two Obama cabinet secretaries and a Democratic lawmaker. He said it was a “good sign” that the administration appeared poised to drop its plan to create a government-run insurance option.

The North Carolina senator argued that rural America has a lot at stake in the health care debate, saying that if there was a mistake in the overhaul, health care would be more difficult to get in rural areas.

Both Burr and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack agreed that changes to the health care system were necessary, saying the current system is not sustainable.

U.S. Senator Richard Burr will visit Edgecombe, Chowan, Hertford, Currituck, Beaufort, Perquimans, Pasquotank, and Pitt counties between August 11 – 14, 2009.

On Friday, he will be in our area at RTP for two events:

9:00 AM         Burr to visit Automation Federation

67 Alexander Drive

Research Triangle Park, NC  27709

11:30 AM       Burr to visit Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc.

79 T.W. Alexander Drive

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

WASHINGTON  – Republican Sen. Richard Burr says he will vote against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

The North Carolina senator says he is troubled by the judge’s decisions in cases where she “appears to have relied on something other than well-settled law” to make her decision. He says he is afraid she cannot separate her personal beliefs from the law.

He added that he believes she has clearly ignored precedent in several cases, saying he finds “little predictability in her decisions and the implications they may have.”

Burr, who is up for re-election next year, compared his decision with that of President Barack Obama in 2005, when the then-senator voted against Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination next week.