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The presidential contest turned into a war of written words when President Barack Obama came to Fort Bragg to thank the troops.

First, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wrote and open letter to Obama highlighting high unemployment for veterans. The letter appeared in The Fayetteville Observer on Wednesday, when Obama was at Bragg.

Today, state Rep. Grier Martin, a Raleigh Democrat, had an op-ed in the same paper, calling Romney's letter disrespectful, and outlining Obama's pro-vet positions.

Martin also got off a dig at the $10,000 bet Romney tried to place with Rick Perry  during the Dec. 10 debate.

"Mr. Romney - while you carelessly offer $10,000 bets - nearly a quarter of the average annual salary in this county - President Obama has stood up for a fair economy where everyone plays by the same rules, hard work pays and responsibility, not recklessness, is rewarded."

State Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to a three-year term on the Reserve Forces Policy Board. Both military and civilians on the 20-member board that advises the secretary on how to improve the military reserve forces for all branches.

Martin is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and a veteran of Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the Airborne School, the air Assault School, and the Field Artillery Basic Officers Course.

 

Gov. Bev Perdue and several other Democratic Party leaders are scheduled to attend a Thursday fundraiser in Raleigh for a group that's hoping to wrest control of the Wake County school board away from the Republican majority.

The stated goal of the fundraiser for the Wake Citizens for Good Government PAC is to benefit Wake school board candidates "who support high quality public schools for all children." The PAC was formed in 2009 and unsuccessfully ran a television attack ad against Republican-backed school board candidates.

The PAC was formed by Dean Debnam, president of the Democratic-leaning polling firm of Public Policy Polling. PPP has recently conducted surveys on Wake school issues for what the firm says is a private client.

Democrats have tried to rally their base against the changes made by the Republican school board majority, including the elimination of the use of socioeconomic diversity in student assignment.

Jamie Earp, a former senior aide to Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has filed to run against Democratic state Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh.

Earp is the principal with the Cardinal Strategy Group in Raleigh, Rob Christensen reports.

He is launching his campaign with the blessing of a number of prominent Republicans, most notably Dole.

"I have known and worked with Jamie Earp for many years," Dole said in a statement. "He is bright, capable, and knowledgeable on the state's issues. He will bring a lot of experience and passion to this endeavor."

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."

The State Board of Elections is conducting an audit of campaign expenditures by Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat.

Gary Bartlett, the board's executive director, said the audit was a routine procedure when the board's staff finds incomplete or insufficient information.

"We're asking for more details on the expenditures," Bartlett said.

The latest campaign report was filed over the summer, the middle of a non-election year, when there is minimal campaign activity.

"They indicated they had concerns about campaign activity in the off-year election cycle," Harrell said Wednesday.

More after the jump.

The House voted in favor of a bill that would allow death row inmates to challenge their sentence as racially motivated.

Opponents criticized the bill saying it would allow a flood of unnecessary and frivolous challenges from every inmate.

"We're fixing to put another road block in the path of those who believe in capital punishment," said Rep. Leo Daughtry, a Johnston County Republican.

Supporters say the bill is necessary to ensure that the penalty is carried out fairly. Rep. Grier Martin, a Raleigh Democrat, said support for the bill and support for capital punishment are not contradictory because both are about justice.

"It is not a paradox," Martin said. "In fact it is entirely consistent with that same sense of justice."

The bill now returns to the Senate.

It's time to refresh the old cup of Senate tea leaves.

The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2010 continues to be completely wide open, though it's increasingly clear that most of the major state officials will pass on it.

Here's the latest conventional wisdom:

THE LAST BIG HOPE: Washington Democrats and national political pundits continue to search for a brand name. U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre is still toying with a run, and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has lately dipped her toe in the water. A definitive "no" has not come from state Sen. Dan Blue yet.

DARK HORSES: Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham leads the pack of dark horses, though former Obama fundraiser Kenneth Lewis can't be counted out. Marshall's legislative liaison, Robert Wilson, told the Insider he was flirting with the idea, but he never returned Dome's calls and he would not likely run against his boss.

WHO'S NOT RUNNING: U.S. Reps. Heath Shuler, Bob Etheridge and Brad Miller, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, state Sen. Malcolm Graham, state Reps. Grier Martin and Tricia Cotham, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, and Elizabeth Edwards have all said no. Of course, so did Kay Hagan in 2008.

In Dome's view, Marshall may actually make a run for it: 1) She's interested, since she ran for Senate in 2002; 2) she wouldn't lose her day job (unlike McIntyre or Blue); and 3) at 63, this is probably her last chance to do it.

That said, Cunningham has a good biography and seems to be exciting the netroots.

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has shot down a Senate bid again.

Speaking at a groundbreaking in Asheville, the Waynesville Democrat said he would not run against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in 2010, according to the Hendersonville Times-News:

"I am not running for Senate," the second-term Democrat said after a ground-breaking ceremony for a new building at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest Station in Asheville. "I am not running for Senate. I am not running for Senate. I have said that a thousand times, and I don't know why they keep coming up (with the idea). Of course they keep coming up and running polls."

Shuler previously pondered — then rejected — a run for Senate, but some Democrats had floated his name again after Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to run. 

Others who have said no to a run on the Democratic side: U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge and Brad Miller, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, state Sen. Malcolm Graham, state Reps. Tricia Cotham and Grier Martin and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.

Scratch another name off the Democratic list.

State Sen. Malcolm Graham of Charlotte shot down rumors this morning that he was considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2010.

"No way," he said.

He had previously told the Fayetteville Observer he was taking "a casual look" at running against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

Others who have said no to a run on the Democratic side: U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge and Brad Miller, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, state Reps. Tricia Cotham and Grier Martin and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.