A recent poll shows a tight race for Senate in 2010.

The survey by Research 2000 for the liberal Web site Daily Kos shows Republican Sen. Richard Burr with 45 percent support and Attorney General Roy Cooper with 43 percent. Twelve percent were undecided.

Cooper, a Democrat, is considered a front runner for the Democratic nomination for Senate.

The pollsters also found that Burr had 46 percent support when matched with former state Treasurer Richard Moore, another potential candidate, who had 40 percent.

"Unsurprisingly, Moore's numbers aren't quite as strong as Cooper's — while Cooper was handily reelected as Attorney General in 2008, Moore suffered a loss in a rather acrimonious primary for Governor," writes a Daily Kos blogger.

Neither Moore nor Cooper have said whether they would run. Another potential candidate, Democratic Congressman Heath Shuler, was not included in the poll.

The survey of 600 likely voters was taken from Jan. 5-7. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

The Senate race may be tightening.

According to a recent survey by Research 2000 for the liberal Web site the Daily Kos, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole had 50 percent support, while Democratic rival Kay Hagan had 42 percent.

Eight percent were undecided. 

Blogger Markos Moulitsas Zûniga writes that Dole is right at the 50 percent mark "considered 'safe,'" though he doubts she can "just slack off."

The results are a little closer than other recent polls, which have generally shown Dole with a double-digit lead.

The survey of 600 likely voters was taken July 28-30. It has a margin of error of four percentage points.  

Marshall Adame has brought up impeachment.

In a post on BlueNC and the Daily Kos, the Democratic Congressional candidate raises a series of rhetorical questions about U.S. policy on Iraq, the Guantanamo prison, torture, rendition and secret prisons overseas, asking "Where was the outrage?"

When we all learned about the Secret prisons, where we took people to be tortured and that our President and Vice President had approved them; Why was our President not impeached? (bold his)

Later in the post, he says the GOP has failed to "put America First!"

"The Republican Party has betrayed all Americans regardless of party affiliation," he writes.

The ramped-up rhetoric and the mention of impeachment come as Adame faces a Democratic primary challenge from Morehead City meteorologist Craig Weber.

The winner of that primary will face Republican Rep. Walter Jones or former Onslow County commissioner Joe McLaughlin.

* State Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin expecting; says she is first female legislator in North Carolina to be expecting a child in office. (Wayne's World)

* Democratic Congressional candidate Marshall Adame endorses John Edwards for president on his blog, cites opposition to Iraq war. (Daily Kos)

* Gov. Mike Easley's holiday tradition: Taking his son to the Dollar Store to buy as many cheap gifts as he can find for Mary. Meantime, she knits unattractive socks for him. (WUNC)

* John Edwards has the most pronounced populist message for a major presidential candidate since Harry Truman, Georgetown University historian says. (N&O)

Jim Neal has started a diary on the Daily Kos.

The Democratic senatorial candidate second post blames the "out-of-touch, inside-the-Beltway impotency of the Bush Administration" for economic problems.

"For the past 6 years, their single-minded focus on fighting the war on terror has left our economic security in the hands of special interest forces and the market economy," he writes.

He calls for investing in alternative energy, creating universal health care, expanding microloan programs and investing in college education.

Neal is not the only North Carolina Democrat on Markos Moulitsas Zúniga's progressive blog site. U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and Congressional candidate Marshall Adame also have diaries.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller says brokers are to blame for the high foreclosure rate.

In a post on his Daily Kos blog, the Raleigh Democrat points out that mortage brokers originated 71 percent of subprime loans, saying they are "much more aggressive" than traditional lenders.

He argues that the loans are rigged against unsophisticated borrowers, who often have to refinance a few years down the road, losing equity and racking up new fees.

As the debate in Congress heats up over predatory mortgage lending practices and the subprime foreclosure epidemic, you’ll see prosperous-looking industry spokesmen speak up for consumer choice, and argue that reform proposals would violate all that is sacred, and will only make things much, much worse.

He says they "made this mess in the first place."