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B.J. Lawson, the Republican candidate in the state's 4th Congressional district, has pledged to donate $1 million to charity if he breaks his word not to serve more than four terms. Lawson, a medical software entrepreneur, is challenging 11-term Democratic incumbent Rep. David Price.

Lawson announced Tuesday he will sign a term limits pledge with the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits. The non-profit group, based in Pinehurst, bills itself as a grassroots, non-partisan organization dedicated to getting candidates for state and national office to back promises to serve a limited number of terms with a promissory note for a "credible portion of their personal funds."

Of course, before keeping that pledge, a candidate must first be elected. So far, none of the 13 Congressional candidates who have signed with the group have reached that goal.

There is hardly any arguing that a strong Republican wind continues to blow across North Carolina.

Voters are unhappy with President Barack Obama and they are not too keen on Democratic members of Congress either, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm based in Raleigh.

The survey found that 57 percent disapprove of of the job that President Obama is doing, while 39 percent approve of his job performance and 4 percent are not sure.

Asked which party they would vote for in a congressional election today, 51 percent said Republican and 42 percent Democrat, with 7 percent undecided.

The poll surveyed 681 likely North Carolina voters from Sept. 23 to 26. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.
    

The 7th district congressional race down in Southeastern North Carolina appears to be heating up.

A new poll shows that Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre and his Republican challenger Illario Pantano in a dead heat. The survey taken for the conservative leaning Civitas Institute shows Pantano leading among registered voters with 46 percent, followed by McIntyre with 45 percent, and nine percent undecided.

Among likely voters, Pantano's lead jumps to 52-42 percent.

The poll of 450 registered voters was conducted Sept. 24-26 by SurveyUSA of Clifton, New Jersey. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percent.

The spin: “McIntyre touts the fact that he is a conservative Blue Dog Democrat; this has given him an edge in appealing to both moderate and conservative voters in the district,” said Civitas analyst Chris Hayes. “But this has also turned off portions of hard-line Democratic, especially African-American, voters who have become disappointed with McIntyre and his diversion from voting with the president.”

Veteran politics-watcher Michael Barone says he expects the U.S. House to go Republican in November, but said it is likely that the Democrats will hang on to the U.S. Senate.

Barone, who is in town to speak to a John Locke Foundation luncheon, said all the evidence points to a big Republican year.

“As things look now, it looks like the Republicans could have a better year than 1994,” Barone told Dome, referring to the Gingrich GOP landslide of that year. 

The House is a likely to go Republican, but it is not a certainty, he said. The Senate is more difficult to predict, with the Delaware Senate race now out of reach for the Republicans but with GOP competitive in West Virginia and Connecticut.

“The Republicans could win a Senate majority, but it is probably not likely,” said Barone.

Barone is senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, a frequent contributor to Fox News and co-founder of the widely respected Almanac of American Politics, a copy of which is always sitting on the desk of Under the Dome.

He said a strong showing by Republicans in November would not necessarily translate to automatic victories in 2012, when the GOP will be seeking the keys to the entire federal government and not just part of it and when  they may not have the voter turnout advantages that they have this year.

Barone will appear with political consultants Gary Pearce and Marc Rotterman at a Locke Foundation lunch previewing the election at noon at Sister's Garden in North Raleigh.
 

North Carolinians are evenly divided about President Barack Obama but strongly disapprove of Congress, according to a new Elon University Poll.

The survey found that 47.3 percent approve of the way Obama has handled his job, while 47.5 percent disapprove.

But Tar Heel residents are much more sharply critical of members of Congress. Only 23 percent approve of the job that Congress is doing, while 68 percent disapprove. This cannot be good news for incumbents running.

The poll, conducted Sept. 20-23, surveyed 584 North Carolina residents – voters and non voters – and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Congressional candidate William "Bill" Randall does have an MBA after all.

The campaign of his opponent, Bernie Reeves, issued a press release Wednesday suggesting Randall was lying about earning a master's degree from National-Louis University in 2007.

The two Republicans are waging a hard fought campaign in the District 13 runoff to face incumbent Democrat Rep. Brad Miller on the November ballot.

Reeves' campaign released a document from the National Student Clearinghouse, a service used by many institutions provide verification of academic degrees and transcripts, that appeared to indicate Randall had been enrolled in the online graduate school, but had not graduated.

Randall said any suggestion he didn't earn his degree were "ridiculous."

After declining to comment on the issue for nearly a day, National-Louis spokeswoman Jill Talabay confirmed to Dome Thursday evening that Randall did graduate from the school, which is based in Chicago.

In an e-mail, Reeves didn't express any remorse for questioning Randall's academic credentials.

"Since the school reported to the National Student Clearinghouse Randall did not have a degree, it was a fair question," Reeves wrote. "The school has corrected the report and cleared the air."

The campaign of Republican congressional candidate Bernie Reeves is suggesting his opponent is lying about earning a master's degree.

William "Bill" Randall, who is facing Reeves in a June 22 runoff for the GOP nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Rep. Brad Miller in the state's 13th Congressional district, says he earned a master's degree in business administration from National-Louis University, graduating in 2007.

But Reeves' campaign says calls to the Chicago university seeking to confirm Randall's degree were referred to the National Student Clearinghouse, a service used by many institutions provide verification of academic degrees and transcripts.

Wednesday evening, Reeves' campaign provided a copy of e-mailed reply from the clearinghouse saying that Randall had been enrolled at National-Louis, which offers courses over the Internet, from 2004 to 2006, but that he did not earn a degree.

Reached by a reporter, Randall said any suggestion he did not earn an MBA is "ridiculous."

"Our country is in peril, and this is the best Bernie Reeves can come up with," Randall said. "Sad."

When pressed to provide documentation of his MBA, such as showing the reporter his diploma, Randall said he didn't have one.

"I elected not to attend the commencement ceremony," Randall said. "I haven't gotten my diploma yet. But I completed all the requirements to get my degree. I graduated."

As proof, the candidate provided a copy of a May 2007 e-mail that appears to have been sent from an associate registrar at the university indicating Randall needed to pay a $35 fee to receive a copy of his diploma. Randall said he could provide additional documentation by Monday.

"I absolutely completed my degree," Randall said.

A spokeswoman for National-Louis reached by Dome late Wednesday said she could not immediately confirm whether or not Randall earned a degree at the institution. She said a definitive check of the university's records would be completed Thursday.

Rep. Bob Etheridge says he fully expects Republicans to attack him for his vote in support of the new health care law backed by President Barack Obama. And in a video released by his reelection campaign, the Lillington Democrat makes clear that he fully intends to run on, and raise money, defending his stand.

"I proudly stood up for North Carolina's working families by casting my vote to fix America's broken health care system," Etheridge says in the video, released last week. "The other side has made clear they're coming after us with all they've got in their campaign to repeal this historic achievement. If you thought they threw the kitchen sink at us in the months leading up to this landmark vote, just wait until you see what's next. Let me be clear. I will never back down in my work to do what's right by the people of North Carolina. Between now and November, I'm going to need your help. Will you stand with me in this fight? I hope you will."

Etheridge, whose largely rural district tends to lean conservative, is seeking reelection to an 8th term in the U.S. House. Renee Ellmers, Frank Deatrich and Todd Gailas are competing in the Republican primary for the right to challenge the incumbent Congressman.

With the health care debate entering a key phase in Congress, both sides are turning up their grassroots lobbying efforts in North Carolina.

An arm of the Democratic National Committee has been holding grassroots meetings across the state, seeking to mobilize the army of supporters that helped President Barack Obama carry the state last November. Meanwhile, conservative opponents of Obama’s health care plan is beginning to organize, reports Rob Christensen.

The North Carolina Chapter of Americans for Prosperity is planning to hold two rallies next week to oppose what they call "harmful government-centered health care reform proposals in Congress" and to demand free-market solutions.

The featured speakers are Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the GOP nominee for governor last year and possible future candidate, as well as Steve Lonegan, who lost the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey earlier this year.

Lonegan, a former mayor of Bogota, New Jersey, is a conservative activist who heads the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

The "Patients First Tour" will hold a rally on July 21 at the RBC Center in Raleigh with a reception at 6:15 p.m. and a dinner at 7 p.m. On July 22, the group will hold an event at the Jesse Helms Center at Wingate.

But just as in last year’s presidential campaign, conservatives appear to be playing catch up to the better organized Obama forces.

More after the jump

"Does North Carolina have a law where Congressmen are required to live in the districts they represent?" — Dome reader mdougyr

No. No state does.

The U.S. Constitution is the sole arbiter of qualifications for U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and president, said Don Wright, general counsel for the State Board of Elections. That means no state laws can further limit who can run.

Article I, Section 2 lays out the qualifications:

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

As Wright notes, that does not say anything about districts.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones of Farmville was elected in 1994 while living outside the Third District, although the boundary was later redrawn to include his home.

Vernon Robinson of Winston-Salem and Rory Blake of Charlotte both ran unsuccessfully outside their districts in 2006. As with other candidates, they were criticized for not living in the district, but they were not barred from running.

The same is not true for state lawmakers, however.

Under Article II, Sections 6 and 7, state senators and representatives must reside in their districts for at least one year before being elected. 

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