Tim Kaine is coming to North Carolina.

The Virginia governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be the guest speaker at the N.C. Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and other state officials will also be at the event.

Tickets to the annual fundraiser, one of two major events held by the party, go on sale today at the party's Web site.

The event will be held at the Durham Marriott on May 2.

Kaine was in North Carolina last June for a training session at the Hunt Institute.

Previous speakers include Al Gore, Barack Obama and Sen. Evan Bayh.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has joined a group of moderate Democrats.

The Greensboro Democrat announced Wednesday that she will joing the Moderate Dems Working Group, a group of 15 moderate Democrats that will meet regularly to talk about major issues.

"Working with the Moderate Dems, I look forward to finding common-sense solutions to the greatest challenges we face and breaking the political gridlock that, for too long, has characterized politics-as-usual in Washington," she said in a statement.

The group met for the second time Tuesday to discuss the upcoming budget negotiations. It's leader is Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who was on the shortlist for President Obama's vice presidential slot.

Other members of the group include Sens. Claire McCaskill, Joe Lieberman, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner and Mary Landrieu, among others.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will look into terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.

The Winston-Salem Republican announced today that he and Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, are starting the Senate Caucus on WMD Terrorism.

The bipartisan group of eight senators will highlight the problem of terrorist groups obtaining nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and discuss policy responses.

"We must ensure the U.S. government continues to make the prevention of, and preparedness for, bioterrorism and other WMD threats a top priority," Burr said in a statement.

The other members of the caucus are Democratic Sens. Evan Bayh and Russ Feingold; Republican Sens. James Inhofe, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson; and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Barack Obama's uphill win in North Carolina was led by a veteran operative.

Marc Farinella, 50, grew up in New York and Chicago, entering the latter city's politics with a reputation as an egghead. He became campaign manager and chief of staff to Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who defeated Sen. John Ashcroft in 2000 despite dying weeks earlier.

He worked as a strategist for Erskine Bowles' unsuccessful Senate campaign in 2002 and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's re-election campaign in 2004.

He started 2008 working for Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who decided not to get into the race, then came to North Carolina for Obama in July.

The Obama organization had about 50 offices and 23,000 volunteers. Farinella spoke to former Gov. Jim Hunt as often as twice a day.

He said he is considering moving to North Carolina. (N&O)

* Mark Harkins, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, has joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice as a senior government relations adviser. (Roll Call)

* State Rep. Alma Adams says she'll answer some lingering questions about the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation's books "sometime in October." (Capital Beat)

* U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler wants to keep the friendly skies PG-13 with a bill that would prevent showing violent movies like "The Last King of Scotland" in certain parts of the plane. (AC-T)

* Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, John Edwards' one-time senatorial jogging partner, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. (Indianapolis Star)

Would Sen. Hillary Clinton pick Gov. Mike Easley as her running mate?

That's one scenario laid out recently by Stanley Fish on a New York Times blog ($), Rob Christensen reports.

He reasons that the New York senator will be looking for some geographical balance if she captures the Democratic nomination.

Among the possibilities: Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle — and Easley.

Easley, Fish writes, "is a Democrat who has run ahead of his party in two elections. However, he is not well known outside the region, and it is a question as to whether he could deliver his own state."