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Voters will begin casting ballots Thursday throughout North Carolina. At stake: primaries for hundreds of local, state and federal offices – and a make-or-break vote on a proposed marriage amendment to the state constitution. Check out the voter's guide and get a list of early polling places.

--The lascivious details Wednesday in the sexual harassment case involving party leadership magnified the spectacle embarrassing the state Democratic Party in an election year and came just days before President Barack Obama is expected to visit North Carolina.  Read story here.

--In what sounded like a preview of his own acceptance speech, Republican Mitt Romney came to Charlotte on Wednesday to make a case against President Barack Obama as a failed leader whose policies have made the economy worse. Read more here.

--The Democratic gubernatorial candidates pledged if elected to veto any bill requiring photo identification to vote. Wednesday evening’s discussion was the third and final televised debate held on three consecutive nights leading up to the May 8 primary election. Read story here and get the pundits take on the debate.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidates sharpened their criticisms Tuesday night, drawing more pointed contrasts with each other’s records in the second in a series of televised debates. 

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge heard his congressional record on trade and his tenure as superintendent of public instruction come under fire. Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton found himself defending his attendance record and his advocacy of Democratic causes in the legislature. Read the story here. And get the pundits' take on the debate.

Other headlines:

-- The calls for Democratic Party chairman David Parker to resign snowballed Tuesday, leaving his tenure short on days. Gov. Bev Perdue, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and former Congressman Bob Etheridge all reversed course to call for his ouster after trying to avoid the controversy for days.

The Charlotte Observer is calling it the "April Surprise" and the paper's cartoonist gets in his take on the candidates' reactions to scandal.

The News & Observer asked four area political pundits to share their reaction about Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate. Here are their thoughts:

Andy Taylor, political scientist at N.C. State University: “The candidates are really beginning to distinguish themselves. Faison was feisty, repeatedly using language that the party’s base would approve of. Etheridge discussed his experience and steady hand, embracing his Washington record in a way you just don’t see candidates doing these days. Dalton, perhaps because he is left with no choice, projected himself as a technocrat, full of practical ideas.”

Thomas Mills, Democratic political strategist and co-founder of Bates & Mills Consulting in Carrboro: “The candidates’ closing arguments summed up their appearances pretty well. Walter Dalton talked about programs and policies; Bob Etheridge talked about experience and leadership; and Bill Faison talked about himself.”

The major Democratic candidates for governor held their first televised debate Monday night, rapping the Republican legislature for education cuts but offering only muted criticisms of one another.

Introducing themselves to what polls suggest is a large number of undecided voters, Lt Gov. Walter Dalton, former Congressman Bob Etheridge and state Rep. Bill Faison spent much of the hour talking about their backgrounds and discussing how they would work to address North Carolina’s high unemployment numbers and help the state regain momentum in education.

Read the full story and see a photo gallery from the debate -- the first of a trio that continues tonight. Click here to see how the pundits rated the night. And check to see if the candidates were telling the truth about the state's economy, tracking and federal transportation money in the N&O's Fact Check.

In other headlines:

--Columnist Barry Saunders: Until the Democratic Party tells everything there is to tell about the harassment allegations and the settlement, many others may get the same impression – that Raleigh is a Democratic den of iniquity. To borrow a phrase from Jay Parmley, let me be clear: What David Parker needs to do is tell why he settled with the alleged victim, why he kept quiet about it and how much money the ex-staffer was paid. Full column here.

The News & Observer asked four area political pundits -- John Hood, Tom Jensen, Gary Pearce and Carter Wrenn -- to share their reaction about Monday night’s gubernatorial debate. Here are their thoughts:

Tom Jensen, director Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm based in Raleigh: “Most Democratic voters are undecided in the race for Governor and I don’t think this debate did anything to change that. The frontrunners, Dalton and Etheridge, did little to distinguish themselves from each other. Faison was entertaining but is ultimately irrelevant.”

Gary Pearce, veteran Democratic strategist in Raleigh who blogs at Talking About Politics: “Etheridge won: smiling, at ease and physically dominating the stage. Dalton was too tightly wound; Faison, too combative. No disasters and no knockouts. With minor differences on policy, personality trumps.”

Senate leader Phil Berger challenged Gov. Bev Perdue to a debate over her plan to put a 3/4-cent sales tax increase into her budget proposal. Perdue said the revenue is needed for education.

Berger said Perdue is running a media campaign with news releases and public appearances, what he called "a one-sided debate" over the tax increase. He wants to respond.

"Let's give the people of North Carolina the opportunity to hear you articulate your rationale for why increasing taxes is the right thing to do at this time, and I will be in a position to articulate the position that the legislature has taken at this time, that that's not the right thing to do," Berger said.

After Berger, an Eden Republican announced his challenge, House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Mecklenburg County Republican, said he wanted in too.

Looks like it's not going to happen, though. 

Perdue spokeswoman Christine Mackey said no, calling the debate challenge the legislative leaders' attempt to divert attention from the consequences of their budget.

“Republican leaders in the General Assembly need to stop wasting time with cheap stunts meant to distract attention from the damage they’ve done to North Carolina’s schools. They should stand up and take responsibility for passing a budget that eliminated more than 1,700 teacher positions and nearly 2,300 teacher assistant positions this year. Rather than playing useless political games, they should get to work and find a way to reverse the damage they’ve caused, and to prevent the even deeper cuts that are coming next year. North Carolina’s school children don’t need petty campaign theatrics; they need leaders who will make education a priority.”

Berger said he wanted to talk about the impact of this year's budget on education jobs and debate the notion that the Democrats' approach is best.

"I don't accept the premise that Democrat policy is good for education and Republican policy is not so good," Berger said.

He suggested that Perdue is employing a strategy of her reelection campaign.  Consultants say "the governor's path to reelection is most likely to be successful if she can pick a fight with the legislature," he said. "What I think you're seeing is her picking that fight."

Democratic state Rep. Bill Faison is taking on two of the state's top Republicans as he continues to push for an increase in the sales tax to rehire teachers and state workers cut in this year's budget.

Faison taped WCNC-TV's "Flashpoint" political show with Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory and House Speaker Thom Tillis. Joel Ford, chairman of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, also participated.

The politicians taped the show Tuesday. It will air at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Faison, an Orange County Democrat, is traveling the state talking about his jobs plan, which is supported by a majority of the House Democratic Caucus but not the leadership. Tillis has said he won't consider a plan that raises taxes.

But the debate gives Faison valuable exposure as speculation about his future political plans continues and apparently fulfills his challenge to McCrory for a debate.

State Rep. Bill Faison, an Orange County Democrat, wants a debate with likely Republican candidate for governor Pat McCrory on jobs.

Faison is talking about his proposal to increase the sales tax by seven-tenths of a penny, which he says will raise enough to restore teaching and teacher-aid jobs, and fully fund Medicaid and the government-subsidized health insurance program for children.

"What I'm trying to do is focus the attention of the Republicans on the jobs problem," he said. "We've got one, and it needs to be addressed."

McCrory did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment.

Faison talked government jobs in front of an audience of state employees this week with House Majority Leader Paul Stam of Apex on the other side.

A minority party state representative challenging a probable candidate for governor may add fuel to the speculation about Faison's personal jobs program. Not long ago, he was talking like a guy who wants to run for governor.

He said today that he's not going to challenge Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue in a primary.

"I'm trying to help people in the state" and help Democrats win control of the state House, he said.

ACLU LAWSUIT: The American Civil Liberties Union says it's fighting for privacy and free speech rights in a lawsuit pitting North Carolina tax collectors against Amazon.com. (AP)

GRASSROOTS POLITICIAN: Democratic Senate candidate Elaine Marshall's life has been more like a zigzag than a straight line, and it has involved far more than politics. (N&O)

ROUND 2: North Carolina's candidates for U.S. Senate are meeting for another televised debate, and this time it will include the state's third-party candidate. Republican Sen. Richard Burr, Democratic hopeful Elaine  Marshall and Libertarian candidate Mike Beitler will face off at 8 tonight in Raleigh. (AP)

SENATE DEBATE: North Carolina's U.S. Senate candidates met for their first televised debate Monday night, sharply disagreeing on the new health care law, on drilling off the state's coast and on which party was responsible for the national debt. In a one-hour debate, Democrat Elaine Marshall most often played the role of the aggressor, portraying Republican Sen. Richard Burr as a political insider, attempting to tie him to public discontent with Washington. (N&O)

DEBATE FACTCHECK: Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic candidate Elaine Marshall clashed on a range of issues Monday night. But did the candidates have their facts straight? Here's a sampling of the arguments and the facts behind them. (CharO)

BURR WORKS QUIETLY: In 16 years in Washington, Sen. Richard Burr occupies a behind-the-scenes role in which he rarely seeks the glare of the D.C. spotlight. (N&O)