Dome's Rob Christensen and WUNC's Laura Leslie have been nominated as the best political reporters in the state on The Fix.

Chris Cillizza asked readers of his Washington Post blog, The Fix, to nominate the top political reporters by state. And Christensen and Leslie made the cut.

Dome readers, of course, know Christensen as the veteran political reporter, columnist and historian, who literally wrote the book on North Carolina politics in the 20th century. Dome knows him as the human encyclopedia who often saves us from having to look it up.

Our distinguished colleague, Leslie is the barkeep over at Isaac Hunter's Tavern. Congratulations to both.

Presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator John Edwards is facing the election of his life, or at least of the weekend.

Edwards has the dubious distinction of being nominated for The Fix's "Worst Political Sex Scandal" weekend poll. Edwards and his former mistress Rielle Hunter are are listed as one of four scandalous couples.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has nominated Edwards, although is fellow nominees may have the inside track since their ballot entries are written with a little more zing (e.g. John Ensign, his best friend's wife and $96,000 from his parents).

Polls are still open, so Dome deems it unfair to the integrity of the election to give a running tally of votes. Let's just say, there's still a chance Edwards can win this race.

Hat tip: RTB 

* Liberal blogger Doug Gibson outlines 10 things North Carolinians should know about the state's budget problems.

* Conservative blogger Justin Thibault says proposals to require loyalty oaths and close state Republican primaries are bad ideas.

* Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza is still convinced that either U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre or Rep. Bob Etheridge will run for Senate. 

* Meantime, Rep. Heath Shuler's got troubles of his own, receiving criticism for the appearance of preferential treatment on water access. 

The Fix sees North Carolina's race becoming competitive.

Despite the trouble state Democrats are having finding a candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza included the race for the first time in his Senate rundown this week:

10. North Carolina (R-controlled): State Attorney General Roy Cooper's decision not to run in 2010 makes Sen. Richard Burr's (R) path to a second term next fall easier. But, polling in the state seems to suggest that voters are far from sold on Burr and national Democrats seem to be committed to finding a serious candidate. Their two best remaining options are Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre -- both of whom have conservative voting records in the House that would make it difficult for Burr to cast them as liberals. (Previous ranking: N/A) 

Cillizza's options reflect the Washington view that a "name-brand" Democrat is needed for the campaign, although two lesser-known North Carolinians — Kenneth Lewis and Cal Cunningham — have indicated they may run.

Why might Roy Cooper wait to announce a Senate run?

Both Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza and Democratic blogger Senate Guru have recently speculated that the attorney general will announce in the next few weeks.

We at Dome maintain our stance on the utility of such speculation, but we thought we'd lay bare some of the reasons you're hearing the rumor and why it's probably just that.

* The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee wants a candidate. The national group had a good week slamming Sen. Richard Burr and would love to start on a high note. By leaking the rumor, it indirectly puts pressure on Cooper.

* Cooper likely wants to wait. After an eight-year legal battle, Cooper will face a trial in a defamation lawsuit over his campaign ad against Dan Boyce on May 18. If he announces now, the trial will be even more high profile.

In short, you're likely to continue hearing periodic rumors of an impending announcement from Cooper over the next few weeks.

But unless you hear that a Rocky Mount auditorium has been booked, it's just speculation.

Is Roy Cooper ready to announce a Senate bid?

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza recently speculated on The Fix that the state attorney general may be ready to throw his hat into the ring against Sen. Richard Burr:

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) will make a decision about whether to run for the Senate by the end of the month, according to sources familiar with his decision, even as a new poll shows him leading Sen. Richard Burr (R). 

You all know how Dome feels about unnamed sources, especially in D.C. So we turned to our own unnamed source, whom we'll describe only as small, rotund and bald.

Will Cooper announce by the end of the month? "Outlook not so good."

Stay tuned. 

Leroy Towns thinks the Washington Post got it wrong.

The UNC-Chapel Hill professor says a recent post by blogger Chris Cillizza that called Sen.-elect Kay Hagan's the best Senate campaign in the country was "flat wrong."

Democrat Hagan ran a terrible campaign in her defeat of Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. She won because the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ran a brilliant campaign, placing more than $11 million in TV ads. The DSCC ran three of the best ads in the nation: the Rocking Chair series that painted Dole as old and out of touch. 

Towns also notes the old saying that "when you win you are considered brilliant." 

The Fix has named Sen.-elect Kay Hagan's campaign the best of 2008.

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza named the Greensboro Democrat's successful run against Sen. Elizabeth Dole as the best Senate campaign in a post today.

He noted that Hagan got into the race after better-known candidates such as Gov. Mike Easley and Rep. Brad Miller passed it up, started as a virtual unknown and stayed on message despite attacks. He also added that she got a major boost from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Hagan got into the race as a virtually unknown candidate both in North Carolina and nationally, but quickly showed a capacity to raise money that opened the eyes of many people in Washington. On her first trips to the nation's capital, she wowed even the most cynical of party operatives with a charisma about campaigning and a no-nonsense approach to what needed to be done to beat Dole.

In the end, Cillizza notes, Hagan beat Dole 53-44.

He gave an honorable mention to Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.

Chris Cillizza says "Rocking Chairs" was the most effective Senate ad this year.

On The Fix blog, the Washington Post reporter writes that an ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee featuring two old men discussing Sen. Elizabeth Dole's record (and her age, not so subtly) helped win the race:

Rarely does a single television ad change the direction of a race. This one did. Run by the DSCC independent expenditure arm in early August, the ad, which features two older men sitting on rocking chairs and debating Dole's lack of effectiveness and support of President Bush, framed Dole as changed and out of touch -- the narrative that ultimately beat her. This, to our mind, was the single most effective ad run in any Senate race in the country.

The Washington Post remains bullish on Kay Hagan.

On The Fix blog, political reporter Chris Cillizza ranks North Carolina the sixth most competitive Senate race this year and gives Hagan good odds: 

Down in most public and private polling, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) went for a long ball this week in the form of an ad that seeks to raise questions about the religiosity (or lack thereof) of her opponent -- state Sen. Kay Hagan (D). The move was roundly lambasted by newspapers in the state and seemed more likely to backfire on Dole than accrue to her political benefit. Hagan is in strong position to pull a major upset. (Previous ranking: 7)