Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is going to decide soon whether he’s running for U.S. Senate.

Any day now.

Etheridge figured in August he’d have a decision by September. Earlier this week, he was expected to reach a decision by the end of the week. This morning, he told Dome it would be by this weekend, but not today or tomorrow.

(So, not until after Saturday’s anticipated health care vote, about which Etheridge has yet to take a position.)

He’s heard from supporters. He’s heard from the White House. He’s heard from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He’s heard from his wife and family.

The conversations with his family, Etheridge said, might be the most important. In running for state-wide office, he would be away for the next year criss-crossing the state. Etheridge routinely returns home to Lillington on weekends to spend time with his grown children and grandchildren.

“You’ve got to weigh a lot of factors,” Etheridge said. “And I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be in the position, but I’m also in the position to help people right where I am.”

Etheridge last year was appointed to the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, a role he has sought for years.

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy traveled to Washington last week to meet with members of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and others familiar with U.S. Senate campaigns, Foy said while waiting for a plane back to North Carolina.

"I'm just trying to get a clear idea of what the possibilities are," he said. "I'm trying to consult a whole lot of people. ... It's got to be best for North Carolina."

So far, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis have announced their campaigns to unseat Republican Sen. Richard Burr, reports Jesse DeConto.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, another Democrat, is also mulling a run. Etheridge says the DSSC has been courting him to run, and former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker also said he has been in touch with the committee. Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington is also looking at the race.

DSSC spokesman Eric Schultz said Burr holds one of two incumbent Republican seats the committee is targeting in 2010.

"We believe Sen. Burr's especially vulnerable," Schultz said. "He's been very explicit that he doesn't want to lift a finger on healthcare or the economy."

Update: "It speaks to the lack of depth of the Democrat bench in North Carolina that more than half a dozen potential Senate candidates – including one who was personally lobbied by President Obama in the White House – have passed on a bid in 2010,” said Colin Reed, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge still isn't saying whether he intends to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year.

But he's not saying no, either, The (Dunn) Daily Record reports. Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat was asked during a visit to the paper about whether he intends to run against Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican.

"I don’t know about that," Rep. Etheridge said with a wide grin.

He said he has been in contact with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee over the past few months.

"They’re doing a lot of talking," he said.

The paper notes that the stakes are high for Etheridge, who now sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the House.

Etheridge's answer will likely help others decide whether to take a shot. Kenneth Lewis, a Durham lawyer, has announced his candidacy. But others, including former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy have all expressed interest but haven't committed yet. Democrats have also been courting former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker.

Update: Later, Etheridge told Dome that it had been at least two weeks since he had spoken to the DSCC. A follow-up question was met with, "Gotta go…"

And during a conference call on health reform last Tuesday, he was similarly vague to a reporter from a Capitol Hill newspaper.

"Today is not the day I plan to talk about it. Thank you very much, though," Etheridge said.

Eleven North Carolina residents were in the room with President Barack Obama this afternoon for his chat with volunteers from Organizing for America, a group organized by the Democratic National Committee to rally support for Obama’s health reform.

Among them was Charles Coble of Chapel Hill, who told Obama in the question-and-answer session that he wants health reform for his children and grandchildren, reports Barb Barrett.

“You’ve been outrageously good in trying to get a bipartisan bill through this Congress,” Coble said. “But America needs this to happen, and you know that. So, where are we going to go from here?”

Obama responded that he had committed to getting health reform with Republican ideas.

“But I have no control over their political strategy,” Obama said. “My commitment to the American people is: We’re going to get this done one way or another.”

Correction: An earlier version of the post had the incorrect number of N.C. residents who met with Obama. 

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge said today that he is giving some thought to running against Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, said he has been courted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as a potential candidate, reports Rob Christensen.

“I’m evaluating it,” Etheridge said during a meeting Wednesday with reporters and editors at The News & Observer.

Etheridge said he met recently with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and had discussions with family members and a few key supporters. Etheridge said he hoped to make a decision by September.

The backing of the DSCC is important because Senate races have become nationalized. The DSCC spent at least $10 million on behalf of Democrat Kay Hagan last year, playing a pivotal role in her defeat of Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Etheridge said it was a particularly difficult decision because he is the first Tar Heel in 56 years to serve as a member of the influential House Ways and Means Committee.

Read more after the jump.

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Former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker is being courted as a possible opponent to Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year, and he is at least listening.

Wicker, a Sanford resident who practices law in Raleigh, said he has had conversations with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, former Gov. Jim Hunt and others, Rob Christensen reports.

"I’m still passionate about creating jobs and a higher standard for education and affordable health care," Wicker said.

"And I still have those pangs of emotion about being involved in public service. But I have been focused on my practice."

BUT.

"I’m doing some listening," Wicker said.

Wicker, 57, served two terms as lieutenant governor and six terms in the state House. He lost the Democratic nomination for governor in 2000 to Mike Easley.

The Democratic field for U.S. Senate is regarded as wide open.

One Democrat, Kenneth Lewis, a Durham attorney, has announced his candidacy. Three others, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington, and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy are looking at the race.

Polling numbers show that Burr is not very well known and his favorability ratings are lackluster, but polls suggest he could defeat any of the Democratic names being mentioned.

In politics, there are an infinate number of stops before you reach a "yes" or "no."

How else to interpret the words of a campaign strategist about Secretary of State Elaine Marshall's current stance on running for U.S. Senate next year against Sen. Richard Burr?

Marshall is "pretty seriously leaning towards" running, strategist Thomas Mills told CQ Politics.

That's an absolute possibly.

"She's gotten very strong feedback both in state and in Washington," Mills told CQ Politics.

The squishy certainty comes as U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a potential brand name candidate, decided not to run against Burr. And CQ is at least the second Washington-based publication that has carried gelatinously concrete thinking about running from Marshall.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, are you getting all this?

Democratic commentator Barlow Herget raises the question whether Sen. Kay Hagan has shown the proper amount of loyalty to the Democratic agenda in Washington.

Herget, a former Raleigh City Councilman who has his own Internet radio program, notes that Hagan expressed reservations about President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, has shown "tepid support" for Obama’ health care plan, and has not replaced U.S. Attorney George Holding, who has been investigating former Gov. Mike Easley and former Sen. John Edwards, both Democrat, Rob Christensen reports.

Herget quotes an unnamed "seasoned Democratic consultant" as saying "If I had wanted another Republican in Washington, I would have voted for one."

He notes that Hagan was helped in her victory last November over Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole by a strong turnout by Obama supporters and received millions of dollars in campaign help from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

* A Facebook group backing Cal Cunningham for Senate now has more members than one for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

* Former Republican Congressional candidate Will Breazeale says he's ready for a rematch against U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, who beat him 68-32 percent.

* Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole joins husband Bob and other VIPs at 65th anniversary of D-Day event in France.

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr criticizes CNN for report on flavored "smokeless products," receives criticism from liberal blogger. 

For now, Democrats plan to attack Sen. Richard Burr on the economy.

Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, took issue with the headline of a previous post on Burr's chances in 2010.

He rattled off several criticisms of Burr: The controversial ATM statement and his votes against President Obama's stimulus package, the Senate budget resolution, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

"North Carolinians deserve two senators who will work to get this economy working again," he said. "Not one who stands in the way at every turn."

Several things were notable about the criticisms. They focused on contrasts between Burr and Obama, they centered on the economy and they were recent.

Of course, things change. At this point in the 2008 election cycle everyone thought the race would be about illegal immigration.