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North Carolina furniture company owners Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams are hosting a fundraiser for Democratic candidate for governor Walter Dalton in High Point this Sunday aimed at donors in the gay community.

The invitation bills the gathering as "the first time our state has ever had an LGBT event for a candidate for governor."

First Lady Michelle Obama will be in North Carolina on Wednesday for campaign stops in Greenville and Durham.

The Obama campaign said more details will be provided later today. Michelle Obama is a familiar presence in the state, appearing at campaign events and fundraisers in 2008 and this year. 

She was in North Carolina just two weeks ago, delivering a televised speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte and speaking to smaller convention gatherings.

Unaffiliated voters favor GOP candidate Pat McCrory by a wide margin in the race for governor, according to a Civitas Poll.

McCrory leads Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, the Democrat, with independents by 46 percent to 29 percent, according to the poll. Ten percent support Libertarian Barbara Howe. More than half the unaffiliated voters surveyed either had no opinion of Dalton (29 percent) or had never heard of him (27 percent).

"Many voters just don't know who Walter Dalton is," Civitas President Francis X. De Luca said in a statement.

Twenty-two percent had no opinion of McCrory, and 9 percent had never heard of him. Forty-five percent of unaffiliated voters had a favorable view of McCrory, while 24 percent had an unfavorable view. Dalton was 23 percent favorable and 20 percent unfavorable.

The poll has President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney in a dead heat, at 45 percent each.

The survey of 400 voters registered as unaffiliated was conducted Aug. 20 and Aug. 21.  The poll has a 4.9 percent margin of error.

UPDATED: The endorsement wagon continues to roll through legislative districts with the N.C. Chamber the latest to drop support and probably money into local races. Most the names on this list are Republicans and a few without really contested races, including the GOP leadership. Exceptions include: Gene McLaurin and Paul Tine, Democrats in swing districts. 

In the Raleigh area, the chamber is supporting two first time GOP candidates: Tamara Barringer and Chad Barefoot. See the rest below. The Chamber also endorsed Republican Paul Newby in the N.C. Supreme Court race.

Restore Our Future, the Super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has an ad focusing on the economy that depicts a debate with President Barack Obama.

The PAC says it is spending $10.5 million to run the ad in 11 states, including North Carolina, in the week running up to the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

A new report estimates that North Carolina's Latino vote is undercounted by roughly 25,000 with another 100,000 unregistered.

The report issued Wednesday by Democracy North Carolina and a group of Latino advocacy organizations analyzes electoral and census data to provide a picture of the growing voting bloc.

Latinos represent less than 2 percent of registered voters but Democrats and Republican campaigns are placing emphasis on reaching them in a battleground state where President Barack Obama won by 14,000 votes.

“Mobilizing 225,000 eligible Latino voters in a swing state like North Carolina could have a dramatic impact on a tight presidential election,” said Isela Gutiérrez-Gunter, who co-authored the report with colleague Bob Hall at Democracy North Carolina, a voting advocacy group.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton's campaign launched a group to reach out to educators in the race for governor. It's called Educators for Dalton.

Former NCAE President Sheri Strickland is its chairwoman, and founders include the current NCAE president and vice president.

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is the Republican candidate.

“Walter Dalton created the state's early college system, led efforts to decrease classroom sizes, and worked to give teachers the largest pay raise in a generation,” Strickland said in a statement. “Walter has stood up for our children and teachers, and it’s time we stand up for him.”

Correction: Dalton's campaign started the group.

Jim Blaine, Senate leader Phil Berger's chief of staff, leaves that job this week to work for the state Senate Republican caucus on this year's campaigns.

Tracy Kimbrell, Berger's general counsel, will be acting chief of staff.

Blaine helped Republicans win the majority two years ago as executive director of the caucus.

"Jim Blaine was instrumental to our many legislative successes over the past two years," Berger said in a statement. "I'm thrilled he has agreed to help lead our political team and help us retain a majority this fall."

Berger called Kimbrell, a former lobbyist, "a gifted attorney, dedicated public servant and a natural fit to lead our talented staff."

Days after the legislative session ended, the majority of North Carolina voters disapprove of the General Assembly.

A new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling shows 52 percent disapprove and 22 percent approve of the state legislature's job. Another one in four voters are unsure.

A Wake County advocacy group filed a legal complaint Friday appealing a decision by the Wake County Board of Elections to dismiss the bulk of its complaint about non-citizen voters.

The Voter Integrity Project wants to remove 528 Wake County residents from the voter registration list because it believes they are not U.S. citizens and not eligible to vote. It identified residents dismissed from jury duty as being a non-citizen and cross-referenced the list with voter registration data.

But a State Board of Elections inquiry using Division of Motor Vehicles data found that 510 voters were indeed U.S. citizens and the Wake board dismissed those complaints. The remaining 18 people whose citizenship were not verified by the state are set to appear before a full hearing Aug. 21 in Raleigh.