McCain now a leaner in N.C.

Congressional Quarterly has downgraded John McCain's chances here.

The Washington-based news service had previously listed North Carolina as "Republican Favored" but now ranks the state as the more competitive "Leans Republican."

Staffer Greg Giroux writes that Democrat Barack Obama still has an uphill climb in North Carolina and Indiana based on past elections:

"Still, it would take quite a leap for Obama to switch those two states from Republican red to Democratic blue on those Election Night electoral vote maps. While [George] Bush won Virginia by an 8 percentage-point margin, he carried North Carolina by 12 points -- even though Democratic vice presidential nominee [John] Edwards represented the state in the Senate -- and took Indiana by a 21-point margin."

Standing in for McCain

Here's a mostly complete list of McCain's surrogates in North Carolina for the general election:

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr; former Sen. Bob Dole; former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer; former Arkansas Rep. Asa Hutchinson; Republican Party chairwoman Linda Daves; former N.C. Republican Party chairman Ferrell Blount; state Sen. Neal Hunt; House Minority Leader Paul Stam; state Reps. Ric Killian and Nelson Dollar; Dr. Jeanne and David Smoot; and former prisoner of war Col. J. Quincy Collins Jr.

Standing in for Obama

Here's a mostly complete list of Obama's surrogates in North Carolina for the general election:

Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and his wife, Jill; Michelle Obama; Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; former Sen. Bill Bradley; former Sen. Jean Carnahan; Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Lambert; Maj. Gen. Scott Gration; professor Sarah Sewall; veterans Paul Bucha, John McCary and Jon Kuniholm; actresses Alfre Woodard, Jurnee Smollett, Tatyana Ali, Ellen Pompeo and Danielle Panabaker; and actors Kal Penn and Harold Perrineau. The daughter of Jackie Robinson was scheduled to come but did not make it.

Fundraising lawsuit

The Pitt County Republican Party and a voter are suing over Democratic fundraising methods.

In a lawsuit filed last week, the plaintiffs allege that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is circumventing a law barring corporate money from being used in state campaigns, The Associated Press reported.

"The injunction sought in this lawsuit is essential to the voters in North Carolina if we are to have a fair and honest election conducted on a level playing field," Kieran Shanahan, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said in a news release.

Matt Compton, a spokesman for the DLCC in Washington, said the lawsuit would be dismissed.

"We feel that this is a classic publicity stunt lawsuit," he said. "There's nothing to it."

The GOP and voter Kimberley Hendrix allege that the DLCC accepts corporate contributions and transfers them to the DLCC N.C. Political Action Committee.

The State Board of Elections is also investigating the PAC.

Close races all

The polls continue to show tight races for governor, senator and president.

The most interesting poll result from the past week was a survey by Rasmussen Reports that showed Democrat Obama with a two-point lead over Republican McCain in North Carolina.

It was the first major poll to show Obama in the lead in a state that hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since 1976.

Other polls in recent weeks have shown McCain and Obama tied, but those polls have also included Libertarian Bob Barr, the only third-party candidate who will be on the ballot in North Carolina.

The Rasmussen poll did not include Barr, who tends to draw more from McCain support.

The survey of 500 likely voters was taken Sept. 23. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Another poll taken recently by the conservative Civitas Institute showed Republican Pat McCrory edging Democrat Beverly Perdue by two points in the gubernatorial race, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole narrowly beating Democrat Kay Hagan by a similar margin.

The results were flipped, however, when leaners were not included in those two polls.

And in the presidential race, Civitas found McCain and Obama tied at 45 percent, with Barr pulling in two percent. The survey of 600 likely general election voters was conducted between Sept. 17 and 20. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.