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Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall are set to debate tonight on WRAL in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate.

The debate is set for 30 mintues so look for the candidates to score their points early. The campaign between Marshall and Cunningham has been heating up so watch for sparks.

We'll be watching and posting throughout. 

Public Policy Polling, the Raleigh-based polling firm, has done surveys on all sorts of races recently. You can find out the latest on races for governor of South Carolina, or the Iowa Senate race, or the California governor's race.

But the Democratic Senate primary runoff in North Carolina? Not so much.

The polling firm this week released some polling data on matchups between Republican Sen. Richard Burr and prospective Democratic opponents Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham.

But nothing about the race between Marshall and Cunningham, who face each other in the June 22 runoff, reports Rob Christensen.

Tom Jensen, the director of polling for the firm, said the company did not plan to release any polling data on the Democratic Senate primary between now and the runoff because it was working for a private client. He declined to disclose the identity of the client.

NEXT ROUND LOOMS: The Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate is getting tough and party leaders worry the eventual winner will emerge bruised and battered. (N&O)

COSTLY MESS: Cleaning up the polluted waters of Falls Lake could cost $1.5 billion, and local governments will shoulder most of that cost, according to an N.C. Division of Water Quality fiscal analysis released Wednesday. (N&O)

NO COMMENT: The State Highway Patrol isn't saying much about why it asked the SBI to investigate a trooper. (N&O)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elaine Marshall has picked up the support of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People in her runoff.

The committee, long influential in Durham, had backed Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis in the first primary, Rob Christensen reports.

Marshall also gained the backing of Durham Mayor Bill Bell, who had also endorsed Lewis in the first primary.

Lewis carried Durham in the May 4th primary, with Marshall finishing second. But since then Marshall has been racking up some key endorsements in Durham, most notably Lewis himself, who has joined her campaign as chairman.

Marshall has been endorsed by the Durham-based Independent Weekly, by former N.C. Central University Chancellor Julius Chambers and by Durham lawmakers Floyd McKissick, Larry Hall and Mickey Michaux.

A second poll shows Republican Sen. Richard Burr lengthening his lead over his prospective Democratic opponents.

Burr leads Secretary of State Elaine Marshall by 46-39 percent, and he leads former state Sen. Cal Cunningham by a 46-35 percent, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, Rob Christensen reports.

The same polling firm a month ago found Burr statistically even with Marshall by 43-42 percent and slightly ahead of Cunningham 44-39 percent margin.

"The impressions Cunningham and Marshall made during the primary seem to be temporary, not long lasting," said Dean Debnam, president of the polling firm. "That could be beneficial to Senator Burr."

The survey found that 74 percent of North Carolina voters were unsure of their opinions of Cunnigham and 62 percent were unsure of Marshall.

But Burr's job approval ratings are mediocre.

The survey found that 35 percent approve of the job Burr is doing, compared to 37 percent who disapprove.

Those figures are similar to numbers for Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, who 34 percent approve of the job she is doing and 39 percent disapprove.

The survey of 601 voters from June 4-6 had a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr continues to hold a double-digit lead over his potential Democratic rivals, according to a new state-wide survey.

A new Rasmussen Reports survey shows Burr defeating Democrat Elaine Marshall by a 50-36 percent margin and defeating Democrat Cal Cunningham by a 47-35 percent margin, Rob Christensen reports.

Burr has extended his lead from a month ago. Rasmussen found last month that Burr had a 48-40 lead over Marshall and a 50-37 percent lead over Cunningham.

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on June 3. The margin of error was 4.5 percentage points.

The survey also found that 59 percent of North Carolina voters favor repeal of the new health care law, while 34 percent would keep it.

The poll found that 56 percent favor state adoption of a tough immigration law like Arizona's.

Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham has picked up the endorsement of the Winston-Salem Journal.

"We believe that this service as an officer with the U.S. Army Reserve in Iraq tips the balance in his favor," the Journal published in a Saturday editorial. "He won a Bronze Star for work that included prosecuting corrupt contractors. The Senate lacks any veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, even though the question of how to provide our troops with the best resources and services, both while they're overseas and when they return home, is a critically important issue for Congress."

Cunningham is in a June 22 Democratic primary runoff with Elaine Marshall. Cunningham practices law in Winston-Salem and lives in nearby Lexington.

Democratic Senate candidate Elaine Marshall didn't receive any job overtures from the White House, according to her campaign consultant.

In recent days, the White House has acknowledged discussing possible jobs with Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak in order to encourage him not to run against Sen. Arlen Specter and with Andrew Romanoff, a former Colorado speaker, who is challenging Sen. Michael Bennet.

The White House said that Romanoff approached the White House about a job, Rob Christensen reports. The White House was backing Specter, who lost. It is supporting Bennet in the August primary.

In North Carolina, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the White House gave the nod to former state Sen. Cal Cunningham in the Democratic primary, seeing him as the strongest potential challenger to Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

But Thomas Mills, a Marshall strategist, said Marshall did not receive any overtures to avoid the primary.

"Obviously, the White House knew in advance that Elaine Marshall's integrity was beyond reproach," Mills said. "Anybody who has followed her career knows she could not be bought."

Last fall, there was gossip that the White House might try to find a job for Marshall. One such scenario had her being offered the post of U.S. ambassador to Moldovia, an Eastern European country which as secretary of state, she has developed a close relationship with.

But when asked about such rumors last fall, Marshall said no job offers would dissuade her from running for the Senate.

Julius Chambers, a leading civil rights attorney and educator, has endorsed Elaine Marshall in the Democratic Senate primary runoff.

Chambers, a Charlotte attorney is a well-known figure in civil rights circles having been in involved in a number of landmark desegregation cases. He is a former head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and is a former chancellor of N.C. Central University in Durham.

"I'm proud to have the support and endorsement of Julius Chambers," Marshall said in a statement. "He's dedicated his life and career to creating a more just and equitable society. I look forward to representing those same values in the U.S. Senate."

The Chambers endorsement could help Marshall among African-American voters, reports Rob Christensen. Polls suggest Marshall already has a strong lead over Cal Cunningham among African-American voters in the June 22 Democratic primary.

Marshall, North Carolina's secretary of state, has picked up a number of  endorsements of prominent African-Americans such as former Senate candidate Ken Lewis of Chapel Hill and former Congresswoman Eva Clayton of Warren County. But other prominent political figures are sitting out the runoff, including former Chief Justice Henry Frye of Greensboro and U.S. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte.

MY DONORS? Cal Cunningham Thursday questioned whether his Democratic Senate rival Elaine Marshall improperly used his campaign contributor list in courting his supporters for the June 22 runoff. (N&O)

LIGHT ENVELOPES: The state's oldest and largest mental health advocacy group is in such deep financial trouble it cannot fully pay its workers. (N&O)