U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, is ahead of Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, one of his potential Democratic opponents, by ten points, according to a poll by the conservative Civitas Institute.

Among those surveyed, 43.7 percent backed Burr, while 33 percent picked Marshall.

The poll, released Friday, surveyed 600 voters by live interviews on October 20 and 21 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis have declared their candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Burr next year. Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham is considering a run.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is touting her early fundraising success as a way to get more money for her U.S. Senate bid.

Marshall is a veteran of Democratic politics, but so far a front-runner for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr has not emerged. 

In a newsletter sent to supporters, Marshall's campaign says she raised $180,000 in the two weeks in September after she filed her federal election paperwork. That gives her enough to pay her campaign expenses through May, according to the memo sent to supporters.

While noting Marshall is on track to meet her fundraising goals, the newsletter notes that 60 percent of primary voters are women and that 75 percent of them will be older than 50. The age statistic that is surely meant to suggest that Marshall, 63, may have more appeal than announced candidate Kenneth Lewis, 48, and possible candidate Cal Cunningham, 36.

That last line of reasoning assumes that people only vote for people who are like themselves. Gov. Beverly Perdue didn't get any special support from women either before or after her election, so that theory may not be totally correct.

Will Cal Cunningham officially become a candidate for Senate?

N.C. Spin is reporting in its weekly e-mail blast that their sources say Cunningham "has been buoyed by reports that Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is having some difficulty in securing commitments to her campaign" and that Cunningham intends to announce his campaign to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Burr?

That's not enough for Dome to call it a done deal, so we now turn to our prognosticator of all things politics, our official tool for separating truth from rumor, our cheap plastic toy — the Magic Eight Ball.

The toy's take:

"Cannot Predict Now."

Well that clears it up.

Is it possible that North Carolina voters aren't happy with Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, but still like him a lot better than any of the Democratic alternatives?

That seems to be the message from the latest survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm that surveyed 683 voters from Oct. 2-4.

Burr's approval rating was just 36 percent. That's down slightly from last month's survey, which had Burr's approval rating at 38 percent.

But when voters were asked about possible match-ups with some of the possible Democratic candidates, Burr easily came out on top. Here's a look at what the survey found:

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Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington continues to act like a U.S. Senate candidate, but he is not yet ready to announce a decision.

Cunningham was working the crowd at the Democrat's annual Vance-Aycock fund raising dinner in Asheville over the weekend, and he spent a few days last week in Washington attending a seminar put on by The Truman National Security Project, which trains young Democrats on security issues, Rob Christensen reports. He also met with Sen. John Kerry of Mass. and others.

But Cunningham said he has not made a decision on whether to enter the 2010 race for the seat now held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

"I am continuing to test the waters with Democrats around North Carolina," Cunningham said. But he added: "I am very heartened by the encouragement. North Carolina is looking for energetic new leadership."

Cunningham may be holding off until he sees what Congressman Bob Etheridge of Lillington decides.

Etheridge has been encouraged to get into the race by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which carries a lot of clout because of its ability to bank roll a Senate campaign. But Etheridge has not been moving around the state, and he was not at the Vance-Aycock Dinner, which is considered a must for a potential Democratic Senate candidate.

There are already two Democratic Senate candidates in the race, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis. Both Marshall and Lewis hosted hospitality suites at the Grove Park Inn, the site of the dinner.

Next year's race for U.S. Senate helped turn Asheville into a preview of the Democratic primary next year, as three candidates for the job were in town to mingle.

Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, lawyer Kenneth Lewis and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall were in town for the Vance-Aycock dinner, an annual gathering of Democratic faithful, which this year sold 500 tickets for a $100, a plate dinner, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

Lewis and Marshall have filed the necessary paperwork to run. Cunningham is exploring a race. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, is running to keep his seat and Democrats believe they have a chance at beating him.

The Asheville Citizen-Times caught up with Cunningham, Lewis and Marshall and they attempted outshine each other.

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The FiveThirtyEight blog ranks U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's seat as the 10th most likely to change parties in next year's election.

That's up one from August's ranking of 11. The blog, which analyzes polling data to make predictions, says the ground hasn't shifted much in any of the Senate races in the last month.

Elaine Marshall has entered the race and trails Richard Burr, but Burr's numbers are well below 50 percent.

Keep in mind that 10th place out of the 15 seats that are in play next year isn't exactly a winning ranking.

And exactly which Democrat will challenge Burr in November is not a settled question.

The Asheville Citizen Times reports that the hopeful candidates, Marshall, Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis will be working the room at this weekend's Vance-Aycock dinner, an annual gathering of party faithful.

Sen. Richard Burr has at least a 10-point lead over his challengers, according to a new Rasmussen poll.

The Rasmussen Reports poll found of 500 likely voters found Burr ahead of longtime Secretary of State Elaine Marshall 48 percent to 38 percent.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who has been courted for the race, trails by 48 to 34 percent.

Burr leads Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis, who like Marshall has officially declared for the race, by even more — 48 percent to 32 percent.

The news isn't all great for Burr.

"Despite Burr’s early lead, however, incumbents who poll under 50% are generally considered vulnerable," the pollster said.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. 

Other Democrats looking at the race include former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington, former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker of Sanford, and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy.

Former N.C. Chief Justice Henry Frye has agreed to be honorary co-chairman of Kenneth Lewis' U.S. Senate campaign.

Lewis, a Durham attorney, was a law clerk for Frye, who was the first African-American to head North Carolina's judicial system, Rob Christensen reports.

"When I first met Kenneth over 20 years ago," Frye said, "he was a smart, idealistic young lawyer determined to use his legal training to break down the barriers to educational and economic opportunity facing communities across North Carolina."

'"Kenneth's legal career, as a business and community development lawyer, is a long record of using the law to find common ground between the private sector and the non-profit community," Frye said. "His experience in community development, coupled with his expertise in business law, makes Kenneth uniquely qualified to represent North Carolina in the U.S Senate."

Lewis is the first Democrat to enter the 2010 race for the seat held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has formed an exploratory committee. Other Democrats looking at the race include former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington, Congressman Bob Etheridge of Lillington, former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker of Sanford, and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's approval rating remains below 40 percent, which might ordinarily be bad news for a politician, but he's still ahead of any of his potential Democratic challengers in next year's election, according to a poll released Friday.

The approval rating for Burr, a Republican, was 38 percent, according to the survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm. In matchups against possible Democratic opponents, Burr beat:

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, of Lillington, by 41 to 34 percent.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who officially launched her candidacy this week, and former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, by the same margin of 42 to 31 percent.

Former N.C. Sen. Cal Cunningham by 42 to 30 percent.

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy by 43 to 29 percent.

Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis by 43 to 27 percent.

The survey of 600 voters was taken Sept. 2 to 8 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.