With the defeat of Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is poised to become the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at the start of the 112th Congress. There are many reasons why this development is troublesome, not the least of which is Senator Burr's irresponsible record on nuclear issues (which are under the committee's purview). In short, Burr was the brains behind a law that hindered American non-proliferation efforts and nuclear security. Because of this, Elaine Marshall needs your help retiring Richard Burr.

Denial: You live your life outside of politics. You ignore everything political, you reject that there might be a problem or you simply assume the government will take care of you or leave you alone. Or, you're politically minded but not a partisan.

I'm not North Carolina's most heralded political expert. I haven't written a book, I don't command five figures a month, and the one time I ran for office I lost (albeit by 150 votes). But I've done a lot of campaigning in NC. From upper Cleveland County (where our foothills start to become mountains), to the concrete jungle of Charlotte, to the affluent Lake Norman Suburbs, to the new urban landscapes of Chapel Hill and Davidson, I've staffed campaigns in almost every part of North Carolina. I've worked to pass transit initiatives; helped young, post-partisan leaders emerge across our state; and I've done some quixotic things (like trying to elect the Southeast's first LGBT Senator).

Feel free to take this with a grain of salt, but after the BlueNC radio chat with Gary Pearce, I found myself wondering: what on earth are the U.S. Senate candidates doing?

Today's story in North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is the release of Cal Cunningham's campaign prospectus (h/t Under the Dome), the kind of document that in years past either wouldn't be available or wouldn't be news.

Like you'd expect, the fundraising document outlines why Cal's team believes he can beat Richard Burr. "North Carolina is ripe for an off-year Democratic United States Senate victory and will respond well to an energetic, moderate candidate like Cal Cunningham." But will Cunningham be the Democratic candidate running against Burr? The prospectus does not mention the primary election, and with good reason - it's not in the bag.