On the day before a key Senate vote on health reform, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan sent an email to Democratic party faithfuls asking for cash and reminding them of Republicans’ ways.

The e-mail (subject line: Yikes) began: “Imagine a battalion of right-wingers, tea partiers and ultraconservatives being elected and descending on Washington in January 2011.” It was sent through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and urged readers to donate $5 or more to the committee, Barb Barrett reports.

In the e-mail, Hagan recalled her own challenges in last year’s election: “I know first-hand what it is like when the extreme right comes after you with vicious personal attacks,” Hagan wrote. “I have seen the way they make up lies to suit their agenda, having no qualms about sullying a person's good name with deceitful tactics.”

The committee contributed millions to Hagan’s quest last year to defeat then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole. And the DSCC could prove pivotal to whoever is the state’s Democratic nominee against incumbent Republican Sen. Richard Burr. The Senate is scheduled to take a key procedural vote Saturday on moving forward with debate on health reform.

Former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker said Wednesday that he would not challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Wicker, a Raleigh lawyer and a Democrat, said he seriously considered a Senate bid this time and received strong encouragement to take the plunge, Rob Christensen reports.

"The demands of raising $15 million to $20 million is just an enormous amount of money," Wicker said.

He also cited the demands of a relatively young family and a full-time law practice.

"Richard Burr is going to be a tough opponent," Wicker said. "But it is a winnable race for a Democrat. About this time in the 2008 election cycle the Democrats were scrambling for a candidate, when Kay Hagan said yes then said no and then came back and said yes. A year is an eternity in politics. It may not look like a great year for Democrats. But it can change quickly, particularly if the economy improves."

Wicker is a former state House majority leader and was a candidate for governor in 2000.

There are two Democrats who have announced their candidacy: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chapel Hill lawyer Kenneth Lewis. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been trying to convince former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, an Iraq veteran who previously decided not to run, to enter the race.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge previously decided not to run.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge has still has not issued a statement on whether he will challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year.

But Dome would be shocked if he announces for the Senate. The word in Democratic circles is that Etheridge has decided to seek re-election to his House seat.

Etheridge has been heavily courted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since last spring as the strongest potential challenger to Burr. But Etheridge has always been politically cautious and has passed on Senate races in the past. And he recently gained a coveted seat on the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Lillington Democrat has already told the senatorial committee his decision, but they asked him to put off an announcement for a day or two.

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U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge plans to make a decision on whether to enter next year's Senate race later this week, according to a spokesman.

The Lillington Democrat had hoped to already have already made a decision, but Rob Christensen reports that he was delayed by the weekend vote on the health care legislation and by the Veterans Day activities.

He is being courted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which would like for him to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year. The long delay in Etheridge's decision apparently was a factor in former state Sen. Cal Cunningham's announcement Monday that he would not be a Senate candidate.

Cunningham apparently thought he would get the backing of the Senatorial Committee if Etheridge decided not to run.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is doing a little victory dance over former state Sen. Cal Cunningham's decision not to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year.

By the GOP's count (which looks an awful lot like a list compiled by Dome), Cunningham is the 10th Democrat who has looked at the Senate race and decided to take a pass, Rob Christensen reports. Here is the Republican's list: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Rep. Heath Shuler, Rep. Mike McIntyre, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, state Rep. Grier Martin, state Rep. Tricia Cotham, former state Treasurer Richard Moore, and state Sen. Malcolm Graham.

"Once again," said Republican spokesman Colin Reed, "the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and national Democrats have suffered a serious setback in their efforts to land a top-tier candidate in North Carolina."

Likely disagreeing with that sentiment are the two announced Democrats, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy are looking at the race.

Update: Also disagreeing with Reed was DSCC communications director Eric Schultz.

"Aside from Senator John Ensign, Senator Burr has the lowest approval rating of any Republican in the United States Senate. That’s because he’s beholden to the special interests in Washington. He will face a formidable opponent next November."

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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