Fast money makes governor's race one to watch

Seventeen months before the general election, $2.3 million has already been raised in North Carolina's governor's race.

"Those early totals suggest that this will be one of the most expensive governor's races in the country next year," Chris Cillizza writes in The Washington Post's The Fix blog.

He also rates it the most competitive in the country. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue raised $1.3 million, and her likely Republican challenger, former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, raised $1 million.

North Carolina also maintained the top spot in a Washington Post ranking of governors' seats that are likely to switch parties.

Shuler targets re-election

The word from Democratic Congressman Heath Shuler's campaign is that he is running for re-election next year despite the Republican legislature giving him a more difficult district.

When rumors started a few weeks ago that Shuler might be interested in the vacant post as athletic director at the University of Tennessee, the denial from the Shuler camp was less than Shermanesque.

But Andrew Whalen, Shuler's chief political guy and a former state Democratic Party executive director, told Politico on Thursday that he was really, really running.

"Heath Shuler is running for re-election in 2012," Whalen said. "He is not going to be the next athletic director at the University of Tennessee. He has not sought it. He has not interviewed for it. If offered, he will not accept it. He will not be the next AD at UT. He is running for re-election."

The Shuler AD talk was always flimsy, having started on talk radio. UT had reportedly gone after LSU's Joe Alleva, the former Duke AD. There has been a lot of talk about former Volunteers football coach Phil Fulmer.

But there has been no serious Shuler AD talk in Knoxville. Shuler, who is to be inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday, was not even asked about the AD job in an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Legislators honored

The campaign finance watchdog group Democracy North Carolina, often vocally critical of politicians, can say something nice once in a while, too.

It has honored 22 state legislators with its biennial Sunshine Award. Wake County had more recipients than any other county: Democratic Reps. Grier Martin and Deborah Ross of Raleigh, and Jennifer Weiss of Cary.

Rep. Joe Hackney, the minority leader in the House, also made the list. Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina said Hackney was the only one of the four leaders in the General Assembly to receive the award. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, Senate Minority Leader Martin Nesbitt provided details but did not file electronically. House Speaker Thom Tillis filed electronically, but his reports failed to include the occupations for hundreds of his donors, Hall said. Tillis' treasurer, when notified, said he didn't know disclosure of occupations was required but promptly filed amended reports, Hall said.

The awards, which went to 13 Republicans and nine Democrats, was based on legislators who file campaign finance reports with sufficient information to tell who donated to their campaigns and how the money was spent. The legislators also filed on time and in an electronic format easily accessible to the public. They are allowed to file on paper, but there is a backlog in the Board of Elections, and it can take a long time to get the paperwork online.

Democracy N.C. analyzed reports by all 170 state lawmakers. A list is at bit.ly/rrjRpg.