Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane endorsed President Barack Obama on Tuesday, overlooking the site of where Raleigh’s new transit hub will be built.

The hub, which will receive $21 million in federal grants, is an example of the president’s commitment to investing in infrastructure, education and innovation, McFarlane said.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge will campaign in Raleigh, Wilson and Wilmington on Wednesday for Obama’s re-election.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear headlines a fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Walter Dalton Tuesday in Charlotte. The guest list includes Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, Crandall and Erskine Bowles, and Duke Energy’s Jim Rogers among others.

Karl Rove has $10,000 riding on a Mitt Romney presidency – or rather on what Romney will do his first day in office if elected.

The former adviser to George W. Bush was debating Howard Dean, who made his own bid for the presidency in 2004, Monday at Duke University. At the end, Dean said Romney wouldn’t keep his promise to label China as a currency manipulator; Rove disagreed and thus the wager was on.

From staff reports