Kay Hagan

In a venue of unscripted questions, how will the candidate fare?

Kay Hagan will join us for a live-blog session on Tuesday, April 1 at 5:00 p.m. I am very proud that Kay has agreed to meet with us and I look forward to her answers to our questions. If you haven't had a chance to visit her new web site, give it a look. It's very nicely done and you can see her BlueNC live-blog listed on the calendar. Thank you, Kay, for agreeing to join us.

Public Radio East and the North Carolina League of Women Voters are hosting a live Democratic US Senatorial Forum on the Campus of Craven Community College in New Bern on March 28. The debate will feature all five candidates in the Democratic primary.

If you would like to propose a question, send it on to forum@publicradioeast.org. Mine are after the jump.

[cross-posted on dailykos at and on my campaign blog]

We’ve been talking a lot about our US Senate campaign being a choice between politics as usual and speaking truth to power.

I was surprised and frankly shocked while reading Greensboro’s Yes Weekly article about State Senator Kay Hagan.

Kay points to Senate Bill 3 (SB 3) as an example of how “we do things right in Raleigh.” The legislation adopted by the state senate last year gives away the store to Duke Energy, one of the top contributors to Kay’s state senate campaigns .

You may not know about SB 3. And the problem is I don’t think you’re supposed to. The Raleigh News-Observer says SB 3 was “an insiders' deal from the get-go,” passed with “virtually nonexistent” public debate and no “serious financial analysis of its total impact on consumers.” http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/martinez/story/626147.html

Since when do polling companies engage in criticism of the the subjects of their polls?

I know I am not supposed to, but the time is right. I am endorsing Jim Neal for US Senate. It was tough for me to do this. I am a candidate and I am not supposed to take sides in any race. Even tougher is the candidate I am opposing here is a friend and a power house in my home county. I thought long and hard about this decision as I know both candidates fairly well.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C./InterstateQ.com -- On Tuesday, March 11, tens of thousands of North Carolinians will head to their local precinct meetings to elect delegates to county conventions. The meetings are the beginning of the long trek to the state convention, the national convention and for choosing delegates to represent Democrats at both.

For Senate candidate Jim Neal, the meetings also represent a chance to reach out to more than 20,000 highly involved and attuned Democratic Party activists and likely primary voters. He has sent campaign materials for every meeting - bumper stickers and buttons - to distribute to local activists, along with a letter thanking attendees for their civic involvement.Neal’s campaign has also called and talked personally with 1,200 precinct chairs across the state.