Speaking with her husband Bob at a lecture at the University of Kansas, Dole told a crowd of between 500 and 1,000 students that the former Congressman was full of energy and enthusiasm when he helped her campaign in North Carolina.

Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and her husband Bob will speak in Kansas, the N&O reports.

By SEAN MUSSENDEN
Media General News Service

WASHINGTON-It’s pretty rare for a freshman lawmaker to help shape an important bill like the economic recovery package that passed the House Wednesday.

But Rep. Larry Kissell, D-Biscoe, was given a prime slot on CSPAN to talk up his amendment that would require the Homeland Security Department to buy uniforms made by American textile and apparel companies. It was one of only a dozen or so changes Democratic leaders allowed to come to the floor for a vote and it passed easily.

That gave Kissell, a former textile worker, something to brag about in his textile-heavy district that has been hit hard by plant closings.

“I was asked by someone in the press once, ‘Do you feel as a freshman that you don’t have a voice?’ I responded by saying that if you run fast enough and shout fast enough, people will listen,” he said in an interview.

Perhaps, but a lot of freshmen are ambitious. The fact that Kissell is at the top of the Republicans’ target list in 2010 made it a no-brainer for Democratic leaders to hand him an early victory.

COPYCAT
Two North Carolina Republicans gave Kissell negative marks for originality on his amendment. They noted that the man he defeated, Republican Robin Hayes, pushed similar legislation for years. It didn’t pass in the last Congress, which Democrats controlled, or the previous one, which Republicans controlled.

“If it was his idea, he got it from Robin Hayes,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-Banner Elk.

“He took that out of Robin’s playbook,” added Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Cherryville.

BANKING BLANK
Because North Carolina is a major banking hub, one would expect the state to have representation on the Senate banking committee. And it did, until Republican Elizabeth Dole lost her bid for reelection to Sen. Kay Hagan last year.

Hagan, a Democrat, wanted the slot. And her experience as a former banking executive suggested she would have a strong shot at joining the committee, which is playing a big role in shaping the government’s response to the ongoing economic crisis. But she got beat out by three other freshman senators from Virginia, Oregon and Colorado. Because of turbulence in the banking industry, competition for the high profile post was tough, Hagan said in an interview earlier this month.

She landed slots on the Armed Services Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Her North Carolina colleague in the Senate, Republican Richard Burr also serves on those two committees.

PUTTING OUT FEELERS
Richard Burr is up for re-election in 2010 and the field of potential challengers is starting to emerge – very slowly.

One name at the top of the speculation list: Rep. Heath Shuler, whose district encompasses the state’s western tip. The buzz got louder after the Democrat held a $100,000-plus fundraiser last week with former President Bill Clinton in Raleigh – far from his mountainous district.

His spokesman, Andrew Whalen, said the fundraiser was held there because Clinton was giving a speech at North Carolina State University that day.

So is he thinking about running?

Whalen’s careful response: “Today, Congressman Shuler is running for re-election to the House.” Note the key first word of that quote.

The election might be almost two years away, but pollsters are already testing out a Burr-Shuler matchup.

A survey conducted in mid-January by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm in Raleigh, found voters favored Burr over Shuler 39-28 percent, with an extremely high number undecided. Polls are pretty meaningless at this point, since voters aren’t really paying attention. But they’re helping feed the Shuler speculation.

Democrats hope that Hagan’s and Barack Obama’s wins in the state portend a tough contest for Burr. But respected Washington political forecaster Charlie Cook currently ranks the contest as “Solid R,” suggesting a very difficult race for Burr’s challenger.

“I think ultimately if you have to name a single reason Elizabeth Dole lost her reelection bid, it’s because she was perceived as not attentive enough to North Carolina,” the PPP says.

The PPP takes a look at Richard Burr’s approval rating, compared to Congressman Heath Shuler.

Exceptional black turnout made the Democratic sweep at the top of the ballot possible, but it begs the question: are Democrats going to be able to knock off Richard Burr in 2010 if turnout returns to more standard patterns?

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller said Monday he’s not interested in challenging U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, scratching his own name from an early list of prospects as the search for candidates begins.

Democrats are eager to take a run at Burr, who is up for re-election for the first time in 2010, and the party hopes to maintain momentum that swept them to the brink of a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate this year.

Miller is a three-term Democratic lawmaker whose district stretches from Raleigh to Greensboro. He was courted to challenge

Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole for last month’s election. Miller declined to run against Dole and went on to comfortably win re-election to the House.

When he passed on the bid last year, Miller explained that the campaign would have turned his life upside down at a time that he was focusing on important issues in the House. This time, Miller was a little more blunt, saying he’s not even interested in going through the process of considering the bid.

“I don’t want to spend 18 months of my life having people in Washington tell me how to be Southern,” Miller said.

Miller was one of several Democrats to avoid Dole, and some Democratic strategists had suggested that she should get a pass because of her broad name recognition and lengthy experience in Washington. But state Sen. Kay Hagan ended up joining the race to challenge Dole and in November, unseated the GOP senator by a comfortable margin as Democratic leaders in Washington spent millions on negative ads targeting Dole.

Miller has said he has no regrets about his decision to stay in his seat.

Democrats around Raleigh have also mentioned a number of other possible challengers for Burr, including Attorney General Roy Cooper, State Treasurer Richard Moore and Rep. Heath Shuler. Each of them are mum about the prospect.

RALEIGH, N.C. – U.S. Senator-elect Kay Hagan has filed motions to drop her lawsuit against Elizabeth Dole.

Richard Burr and Kay Hagan have pledged to place North Carolina interests over party politics in the U.S. Senate.

But political analysts said last week that they will watch closely to see how well Burr, a first-term Republican, and Hagan, a newly elected Democrat, are able to keep those commitments.

Especially given that millions of dollars in outside Democratic money played a pivotal role in Hagan’s successful advertising campaign against incumbent Elizabeth Dole.

It’s likely that money from those same sources, particularly the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, will target Burr’s re-election bid in 2010.

“We know there will be instances where the interest of North Carolina will be at variance with the interest of the Democratic leadership in the U.S. Senate on key votes,” said John Dinan, an associate professor of political science at Wake Forest University. “John Edwards faced that test numerous times in his term. Kay
Hagan will as well as a first-term senator.

“The difference is that Edwards had a third variable in play in his votes – a track record that could be measured in terms of his pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination,” Dinan said. “Hagan will be free from that kind of pressure.”

Hagan said Thursday that she expressed her desire to work closely with Burr before her stunning victory over Dole. She said she reinforced that position in a post-election conversation with Burr. “We had an informative talk, and he said he would be glad to help me with any transition questions I had,” Hagan said.

Burr said Thursday that he feels confident he and Hagan “will work well together” on North Carolina issues.

“The North Carolina delegation has never failed to come together on North Carolina issues,” he said. “I don’t believe that will change even though there will be ideological issues where we won’t align.”

Hagan said she will focus her attention on the economy, including adding and protecting jobs in North Carolina, the portability and accessibility of health care, and the war in Iraq as she gets established in the Senate.

“I want to have a well-run and responsive office to constituents,” Hagan said.

Perhaps the first test of cooperation between the senators will come with the next push toward Food and Drug Administration regulation of the tobacco industry, likely in early 2009. President-elect Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of the U.S. Senate’s version of the legislation.

Burr has been an outspoken backer of the industry, even threatening to hold a filibuster against any Senate vote supporting regulation. The position is understandable given that Reynolds American Inc. is based in his hometown of Winston-Salem.

Burr said he supports the inclusion of smokeless products as a less-hazardous alternative to cigarettes in any FDA regulation – a position similar to Reynolds’.

“I don’t know what the process will look like in 2009,” Burr said. “Some are hoping to jam the tobacco industry with the regulation rather than show interest in less-hazardous products than cigarettes.”

Hagan opposes FDA regulation of the tobacco industry, said Colleen Flanagan, a spokeswoman for the senator-elect. Lorillard Tobacco Co. is based in her hometown of Greensboro.

Political analysts said that because FDA regulation is likely to have more support with a stronger Democratic grip on Congress in 2009, Hagan is expected to be able to oppose regulation without it hurting her position within the party.

Dinan said he believes that Hagan may not feel as much pressure to rubber-stamp the Democratic senatorial agenda as other newly elected leaders might.

“The party certainly should be thanking her for winning what some considered an untouchable seat,” Dinan said. “The party likely will put her in a committee seat or two that’s beneficial to North Carolina.”
Burr said he realizes he will be a major target of a national Democratic Party emboldened by its defeat of Dole.

Although officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee could not be reached for comment, the day after Hagan’s win it had a “next race” message attached to Burr’s face.

“Certainly, I’m in the center point of the bull’s eye for the Democratic Party given the outcome of Tuesday’s election,” Burr said. “That’s not based on my job performance by any means, but because I am a Republican.

“I’ve never worried about the next election, because I feel confident in my job performance, and I feel confident that my job performance is recognized in North Carolina.”

Dinan said that though the Democratic Party will target Burr, he hasn’t shown any signs of vulnerability as compared with Dole. He expects that state Democrats will find it tough to find a high-profile candidate to run against Burr.

“In 2010, we’re talking about a nonpresidential election, which tends to bring out a different voter,” Dinan said. “You won’t have the push of the Obama campaign backing the Democratic candidate.”

Hagan said she knows she can’t support the Triad at the expense of statewide interests.

“I know I’ve got to spend a lot more time in the east and the west,” Hagan said. “I want them to know they’ve got representation in the U.S. Senate.”

Still, analysts, as well as local elected officials, say they believe that having two U.S. senators from the Triad could be beneficial to the region.

For example, Burr played a pivotal role in a portion of the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine being based in the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Piedmont Triad Research Park. The grant for the project is worth $45.5 million over five years.

“If earmarks are continued, the Triad might smile,” said Allan Louden, an associate professor of communication at Wake Forest.

Burr said that he and Hagan understand the economic pain that the Triad has endured through its transition from being dominated by furniture, textile and tobacco manufacturing to high-tech, life sciences, financial services and logistics and transportation.

“Not to take anything away from Research Triangle Park, but that area hasn’t lived the decline of the 20th-century economy like the Triad has,” Burr said. “Kay is sensitive to that change and I believe she will work hard to help North Carolina create and retain jobs in the global economy.”

Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem, said he’s realistic about how much assistance the Triad can expect to get from two local U.S. senators. “They both have spoken well of the Triad’s strengths, and they both know where we are trying to go with the Triad’s economy …” Joines said.