The unofficial campaigns for U.S. attorney are almost over.

Although U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder have not taken any official steps towards appointing the state's three federal prosecutors, the long list of candidates appears to have been culled a bit. 

Western District: Former Congressional candidate and assistant Wake County prosecutor Daniel Johnson of Hickory is reportedly the leading candidate in the district that is centered on Charlotte. The post is currently held by Gretchen C.F. Shappert. 

Middle District: Former lieutenant governor candidate Hampton Dellinger is reportedly the leading candidate for a gig as a federal prosecutor in the district that includes Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham. The post is currently held by Anna Mills Wagoner.

Eastern District: Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand (son of the state Senate majority leader) is reportedly competing with Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson for the district that is centered on Raleigh. The post is currently held by George E.B. Holding.

As noted previously, the Eastern District position is important in state investigations in corruption, Hagan says she'll consider resumes and references, and past U.S. attorneys have had a strong political patron.

The Eastern District U.S. attorney usually has a strong political patron.

For most of the last 20 years, the federal prosecutor in Raleigh appointed by the president has been closely tied to Sen. Jesse Helms, except during Democratic administrations.

Here is a list of former U.S. attorneys and their patrons:

George Anderson: (1977-1980) Backed by Democratic Sen. Robert Morgan; appointed by President Jimmy Carter.

Sam Currin: (1981-1987) Former Helms aide. Backed by Helms; appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

Margaret Currin: (1988-1993) The wife of the previous U.S. attorney. Backed by Helms; appointed by Reagan.

Janice McKenzie Cole: (1994-2001) Backed by Democratic U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton; appointed by President Bill Clinton. (No Democratic senator at that time.)

Frank Whitney: (2002-2005) Former Helms legislative counsel. Backed by Republican lawyer Tom Ellis, Helms' longtime political strategist; appointed by President George W. Bush.

George Holding: (2005-present) Former Helms aide and Whitney's No. 2 at U.S. attorney's office. Backed by Ellis; appointed by Bush.

Public corruption cases got the headlines, but they were a small percentage of the work.

A year-end review of casework at the Eastern District U.S. attorney's office based in Raleigh shows that white-collar crime and drugs were the biggest focuses.

Here's a breakdown:

20 percent: White-collar crime such as bank, securities and stock fraud

19 percent: Organized drug crimes

11 percent: Project Safe Neighborhoods, which focuses on felons possessing firearms

3 percent: Project Safe Childhood, which focuses on child exploitation

3 percent: Public corruption

U.S. Attorney George Holding told Dome that the bulk of the corruption work last year was spent on cases involving the sheriffs of Brunswick and Robeson counties.

Senator-elect Kay Hagan will face her first decision soon.

As the only Democratic senator from North Carolina, Hagan will be consulted by President-elect Barack Obama on who to name as a U.S. attorney.

Typically, senators from the same party as the incoming president have some influence over the appointments of federal prosecutors, who are uniformly replaced when the White House switches parties.

The nominees are confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms.

North Carolina has three U.S. attorneys representing the Eastern, Middle and Western districts.

In recent years, federal prosecutors in North Carolina have played a key role in state corruption cases.

George Holding, currently the Republican U.S. attorney from the Eastern District, led the successful prosecution of former House Speaker Jim Black.

U.S. Attorney George Holding said former House Speaker Jim Black "earned every day" of his 63-month prison sentence.

"Jim Black took corruption to a new level in North Carolina," Holding said.