The state's teacher lobby seems to be leaning one way on who it supports to replace Senate majority leader Tony Rand.

But the lobby isn't taking any chances on backing the wrong candidate, either.

In an e-mail to members, the N.C. Association of Educators says that Sen. Martin Nesbitt has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Rand in the second-in-command position within the chamber. The headline on its Nesbitt brief reads, "K-12 Champion Vies for Senate Majority Leader."

Sen. Nesbitt's success comes as no surprise to Buncombe County Association of Educators President Anna Austin, who lunches with the mountain senator regularly. "Sen. Nesbitt checks in with me every week during session and its not surprising to watch issues we bounce around at a lunch table in Ashevillle make it into state law," she said.   

The next item is about Sen. Dan Clodfelter and is written under the decidedly more staid headline: "Charlotte Democrat Eyes Leadership Post." 

The write-up is positive on Clodfelter.

We have immense respect for Sen. Clodfelter, especially his support for public education and a modernized tax structure," said NCAE Vice President Rodney Ellis.  "As educators, we also admire Sen. Clodfelter's  incredible intellect.  He is a strong leader and whatever happens within the caucus, we hope that Sen. Clodfelter continues to lead on tax reform."    

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield has $231,643 in his campaign account, according to federal election records.

Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, received $66,929 in individual contributions and $207,812 from political action committees through September.

Contributors include Arthur R. Collins of Arlington, Va., president of Public Private Partnership ($2,400); lawyers Thomas Taft Sr., Thomas Taft Jr. and Jonathan Taft of Greenville ($2,400 each); the National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC, ($5,000) and the American Association for Justice PAC ($5,000).

Democrat Chad Larkins has not reported raising any money in the race.

News & Observer Dwane Powell, who retired this week, talked about his craft and what goes into a cartoon in this new video.

Ice may be thawing between U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx and Barney Frank.

Foxx, as Dome readers know, is a conservative Banner Elk Republican who is prone to getting her name in print, on blog posts, in the punchline of late night monologues — you get the idea — for blurting hyperbole that tends to outrage the left.

And Frank is the liberal, openly gay Massachusets Democrat.

And so it's not too surprising that Politico reports that a few months ago, Frank got so annoyed with Foxx's endless questioning that he just walked out of a committee meeting.

This week, though, Frank and Foxx had some friendlier banter. We heard the conversation went something like this:

Foxx: "You’re looking particularly disheveled tonight."

Frank: "Well, my partner is the one who keeps me sheveled, and he’s been out of town."

(Please imagine Foxx’s reaction to that. Truly, it would have been priceless.)

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Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is going to decide soon whether he’s running for U.S. Senate.

Any day now.

Etheridge figured in August he’d have a decision by September. Earlier this week, he was expected to reach a decision by the end of the week. This morning, he told Dome it would be by this weekend, but not today or tomorrow.

(So, not until after Saturday’s anticipated health care vote, about which Etheridge has yet to take a position.)

He’s heard from supporters. He’s heard from the White House. He’s heard from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He’s heard from his wife and family.

The conversations with his family, Etheridge said, might be the most important. In running for state-wide office, he would be away for the next year criss-crossing the state. Etheridge routinely returns home to Lillington on weekends to spend time with his grown children and grandchildren.

“You’ve got to weigh a lot of factors,” Etheridge said. “And I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be in the position, but I’m also in the position to help people right where I am.”

Etheridge last year was appointed to the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, a role he has sought for years.

Rep. Pricey Harrison has asked for an investigation into Blue Cross and Blue Shield's campaign against the public option health care proposal.

Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, has asked the Attorney General and N.C. Department of Insurance to look into whether the insurer violated the state's do-not-call registry with a robocall and whether it is proper for the insurer to use premiums to pay for mailers, reports Mark Binker of the Greensboro News & Record.

"We are a fully taxed medical services and hospital corporation," Borman said, adding that the company paid $162 million in federal, state and local taxes last year.

However, the fact the company paid taxes does not make it a for-profit company, said Adam Searing, a health policy expert with liberal-leaning advocacy group The North Carolina Justice Center.

"They are a nonprofit organization," Searing said. "They are organized under a special part of the nonprofit corporation law in North Carolina. They have a nonprofit board."

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell has $244,952 in his campaign account, according to federal campaign finance records.

Kissell, a Biscoe Democrat, raised $99,000 from individuals and $305,000 from political action committees.

Contributors included Anne B. Wilkins of Cary, a consultant ($2,000); Ronald J. Bernstein of Durham, chief executive of cigarette company Liggett Vector Brands ($2,000); the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association PAC ($5,000) and the American Health Care Association PAC ($5,000).

Four Republicans are competing for the party's nomination to challenge Kissell and the race has generated lots of money already.

Businessman Lou Huddleston has raised $57,641 from individuals and loaned himself $45,125. He has $102,000 in his account.

Tim D'Annunzio, who owns a skydiving business, has loaned himself $303,000 and raised $8,400. Hamlet resident Darrell Day has raised $30 and loaned himself $3,000.

Republican Thomas Sweeney has not reported raising any money.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble has $525,373 in his campaign account.

Coble, a Greensboro Republican, has received $25,311 in individual contributions and $117,165 from political action committees in his bid to keep his seat, according to federal campaign finance records.

Contributors include Roger Milliken of Spartanburg, S.C., CEO of the Milliken & Co. Textile company ($2,400);  Allen Gant of Burlington, an executive at textile maker Glen-Raven Mills ($1,000); the Major League Baseball PAC ($5,000); the National Football League's Gridiron PAC ($4,000) and the National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC ($5,000).

Coble is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees aspects of professional sports leagues.

RAND OUT: State Sen. Tony Rand is quitting the Senate. The news that the chamber's chief Democratic enforcer and most formidable political gamesmen is leaving likely thrilled liberal Democrats and conservatives alike. Rand is one of the great characters in state politics and the legislature just got a little more boring.

HOW MANY IS THAT: Gov. Bev Perdue's communications director David Kochman has resigned as her approval numbers remain in the sub-basment. From her days as lieutenant governor, Perdue has had four communications directors in six years, making the job a little bit like being the drummer for Spinal Tap. With luck, Perdue's approval rating will go above 11.

REP. HYPERBOLE: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx said the Democrats' health reform proposals are more dangerous than terrorists. Republicans may have more to fear from Foxx's own mouth than anything Democrats have to say.

IN OTHER NEWS: President Barack Obama has nominated two North Carolina judges to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has had only six Tar Heels since 1801. With the election of a new mayor in Charlotte, Pat McCrory will be out of elected office, but his loss to Perdue is apparently still gnawing at him, so don't expect McCrory to be out of politics. N&O political cartoonist Dwane Powell has retired after 35 years of skewering politicians.

UNCLE SAM'S BUYING: The state is using $140,000 in federal stimulus money to send 16 employees to child development workshops in San Diego while North Carolina has thousands of struggling families seeking subsidized care for their children. Critics say the money should be used to create jobs. (N&O)

LINE INSURANCE: PSNC Energy, the Triangle's natural gas utility, is raising questions with its newest line of business: insuring water lines and sewer lines against damage. The insurance coverage is not regulated by the N.C. Utilities Commission. (N&O)

TAX BREAK: The legislature estimates the state will forgo $1.4 million in tax revenue this weekend, and area retailers say they have high hopes based on how they did last year during tax holiday. (N&O)

The N.C. Republican Party is bringing in Doug Hoffman, the defeated conservative New York congressional candidate who helped spark a national debate about the party's future, to speak at a political fund raiser in Raleigh later this month.

State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said that Hoffman would be a good fit for Tar Heel Republicans, Rob Christensen reports.

"His candidacy in New York inspired conservatives across the country, and he will reach out to North Carolina conservatives to help us reclaim our government," Fetzer said in a statement.

Hoffman has been part of a national debate about what should be the party's stance toward moderates. The GOP leadership had nominated Dede Scozzafava for a U.S. House vacancy after President Barack Obama named Republican Congressman John McHugh as Army Secretary.

But her conservative credentials were criticized her because she favored abortion rights and same sex marriage. Hoffman, a local businessman, ran as a conservative party candidate, picking up the endorsement of such conservative luminaries as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and TV personality Glenn Beck.

Scozzafava ended up withdrawing from the race and throwing her support to Democrat Bill Owens who won a congressional seat that had been in Republican hands for 100 years.

The N.C. Republican Party has long been a conservative party associated with the late Jesse Helms, and Fetzer said he had personally supported the Hoffman candidacy.

Hoffman will speak at the party's Hall of Fame Dinner on November 21 at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Here's a summary of what members of Congress had in their campaign accounts through September 2009. The remaining members of the state's delegation will be added to the list.

G.K. Butterfield: $231,000. 

Howard Coble: $525,000.

Bob Etheridge: $1 million.

Virginia Foxx: $1.1 million.

Larry Kissell: $244,000. Businessman Lou Huddleston has raised $57,641 from individuals and loaned himself $45,125. Tim D'Annunzio, who owns a skydiving business, has loaned himself $303,000 and raised $8,400. Hamlet resident Darrell Day has raised $30 and loaned himself $3,000. Republican Thomas Sweeney has not reported raising any money.

Patrick McHenry: $158,000. Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle has loaned himself $250,000 to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.

Brad Miller: $148,000. Challenger William Randall II has not reported raising any money.

David Price: $218,000. Republican challenger Frank Roche has raised $10,879, mostly through individual contributions. Republican George Hutchins has loaned himself $5,000.

Heath Shuler: $1.1 million.

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has $1.1 million in his campaign account through the end of September.

Shuler, a Waynesville Democrat, has received $366,000 since he was elected in 2008, according to federal campaign finance records.

Shuler received $178,236 from individual contributions and $171,050 from committees.

Contributors include Vincent Ney of San Antonio, president of payday lender GECC ($2,500); William Quinton of Powder Springs, Ga., president of C.W. Matthews Contracting; Independent Community Bankers of America PAC ($5,000) and a PAC of the American Resort Development Owners Association ($5,000).

Shuler, a member of the House's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, also received $5,000 contributions from PACs for rail companies Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail company and CSX as well as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

The House ethics committee on Thursday cleared Rep. Heath Shuler of any wrongdoing for his role in a land deal.

Shuler, a Waynesville Democrat has been dealing with questions about whether he used his office improperly to influence the Tennessee Valley Authority over a land swap. The House ethics committee cleared Shuler and was the third investigative body to find no wrong-doing, Shuler's office notes. In a statement, Shuler said he was ready to move on with his job of representing his constituents.

Throughout my personal and professional life I have always held myself to the highest possible ethical standard. I maintained that standard through all my interactions with the TVA relating to Blackberry Cove. I have never and will never attempt to use my office for personal gain and look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the people of Western North Carolina.

Supporters of publicly financed elections are using revelations from the State Board of Elections hearings into former Gov. Mike Easley to push their cause.

In publicly financed elections, taxpayer dollars provide candidates with money for advertising and campaigning. To qualify, candidates must demonstrate they have a minimum base of support and must agree to spending limits and restrictions on fundraising.

Municipal elections in Chapel Hill, appellate judge races and some Council of State races use the system. 

That's exactly the type of election the state needs in the wake of revelations that Easley's gubernatorial campaign planned to funnel money through the N.C. Democratic Party to circumvent the state's campaign finance limits, said Chase Foster, director of N.C. Voters for Clean Elections.

"More and more, North Carolina leaders see Voter-Owned Elections as the obvious answer to the rising cost of elections,” Foster said in a news release.

Foster released a scorecard tracking votes on publicly financed elections bills. Foster said the scorecard shows that lawmakers are increasingly supportive of the election changes.

A bill that would create a pilot program for more publicly financed municipal elections cleared the House this year. The Senate approved a bill that would expand the program to more Council of State races.

Opponents to such elections say taxpayers would be forced to fund political speech, and that political contributions would instead be given to special interest groups to spend.