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Dan Blue became North Carolina's newest state senator Tuesday.

Blue, a former House Speaker, was sworn in to fill the seat of Sen. Vernon Malone, who died last month. He received a hearty welcome from his new colleagues after a swearing-in by Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker and attended by family members.

Several House members slipped into the back of the Senate chamber to watch.

Blue served two terms as speaker in the early '90s. He left the House to run for the U.S. Senate in 2002. He returned to the House in 2006 when he was appointed by Wake County Democratic Party officials to fill the seat of Rep. Bernard Allen, who died in office.

On Tuesday he answered the etiquette question of what to call him. "Senator" is his current title, but as a former speaker, he's still entitled to be called "Mr. Speaker."

"I'd prefer that," he said.

Although he just stepped into a new job, Blue would not rule out getting another one. When he was asked if he might run for the U.S. Senate next year, he responded: "I'm interested in serving the people of North Carolina and have been for three decades."

Does it matter if your bill is first?

When legislation is introduced at the General Assembly, it is numbered, with House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 starting things off.

Dome wondered if there was a correlation (probably not a causation) with the first bills filed. Perhaps they were more likely to be well-prepared or have some favor with leadership.

The first bill in each chamber simply lays down the rules they'll follow during the session. But as it turns out, being the second, third, fourth or even fifth bill doesn't do much good in the House.

In 2007, H.B. 2 failed to incorporate the community of Corolla, H.B. 3 failed to add a tax credit for long-term care insurance and H.B. 4 did not amend one-stop voting days. Only H.B. 5 passed — and all it did was honor the late Rep. Bernard Allen.

Things were a little different in the more tightly controlled Senate.

That same year, S.B. 2 did not change the lottery formula, but S.B. 3 successfully promoted renewable energy. While S.B. 4 collected more data on race and public health, S.B. 5 did not change laws on methadone and second-degree murder.

The lesson? Representatives, take your time. Senators, get a move on.

Public Policy Polling also works for candidates.

The Democratic polling firm has become well known for its tracking polls on the presidential and gubernatorial races in North Carolina.

But it's also done surveys for more than a dozen state candidates, according to campaign finance reports on the State Board of Elections.

The firm has done work for state Reps. Bernard Allen and Grier Martin; state House candidate Ed Ridpath; state Sens. Clark Jenkins and Dan Clodfelter; and judicial candidates Wanda Bryant, Debra Sasser and Elizabeth McCrodden. In Raleigh, it's polled for Mayor Charles Meeker and City Councilman Thomas Crowder.

It's also polled for the Wake County Democratic Party, the N.C. Association of Educators PAC and the Conservation Council of North Carolina.