Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has assembled a veteran team of political consultants to help her in her bid for the U.S. Senate.

Her pollster is Celinda Lake of Washington, who has worked for candidates ranging from former President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Harvey Gantt's 1996 Senate campaign, Rob Christensen reports. Lake, who is regarded as expert in framing in issues for women, also worked for Marshall's unsuccessful 2002 Senate campaign.

Her media consultant is Doc Sweitzer of Philadelphia, whose clients have included Al Gore' 1988 presidential campaign and New Jersey Governor Jim Florio's race. He has extensive experience in working for North Carolina Democrats including state Treasurer Richard Moore and Congressmen Robin Britt, Bill Hefner, Martin Lancaster, Brad Miller and Steve Neal.

Marshall's general consultant is Thomas Mills of Chapel Hill, who has worked for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, for Congressman Larry Kissell and Eva Clayton and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy among other candidates.

Marshall is one of two Democrats who have announced for the seat held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Lawyer Kenneth Lewis has also announced his candidacy.

The Senate race is still wide open.

Two weeks after expected frontrunner Roy Cooper declined to run, anyone could conceivably announce a campaign and go on to win the nomination.

Still, the field has narrowed a bit. Here's a rundown:

TOP PROSPECTS: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee still prefers a name-brand candidate. To that end, they're putting pressure locally and in D.C. on their preferred candidate, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler of Waynesville. Rep. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton is also interested.

SECOND TIER: Iraq war vet Cal Cunningham and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis continue to test the waters with speeches before Democratic meetings and a Facebook group (for Cunningham) among other things. State Sen. Malcolm Graham and Dan Blue are dropping hints as well.

BLACK VOTERS: After Barack Obama's 2008 wins in North Carolina, black voters are excited about their 2010 prospects. Graham, Lewis or Blue could be the next hope to take up the mantle of two-time candidate Harvey Gantt. McIntyre, who has a number of black voters in his district, could also do well within the community.

LIBERAL VOTERS: By some accounts, Democratic primary voters in North Carolina are more liberal than they've been in the past. While Shuler or McIntyre would do well in a general election matchup with the conservative Sen. Richard Burr, they may have a tougher road in a primary fight with Cunningham, Lewis, Graham or Blue, who are more liberal.

The conventional wisdom right now is that Shuler is the establishment favorite and Cunningham the best of the dark horse candidates. A lot may depend on how well the various candidates do at fundraising.

A Democratic pollster wants to know who should run.

Raleigh firm Public Policy Polling is letting readers vote on its blog which of the following Democratic candidates it should poll against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr:

Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, state Sen. Linda Garrou, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre.

The firm has already tested Attorney General Roy Cooper and U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, two far more likely candidates for the Democratic nomination.

But pollster Tom Jensen said they wanted to see how more obscure challengers might fare against Burr to test his vulnerability.

Votes will be taken here until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Who will win North Carolina?

As we've said before, anyone who says they know is lying because there are just too many variables at play in the presidential race here.

Below, Dome looks at the arguments for Republican John McCain taking the state on Nov. 4. To see our arguments for Democrat Barack Obama, see this earlier post.

HISTORY: This is a Red State. North Carolina has not gone for a Democrat since 1976. Jimmy Carter was a Southern governor boosted by post-Watergate anger. Bill Clinton's efforts in 1992 were for naught. Neither did well in their second try.

DEMOGRAPHICS: North Carolina is changing, but it's not changed yet. Sure, a lot of Northeasterners have moved here in recent years, but a significant portion of the state's voters are still native conservatives. Maybe in 2012 or 2016, but not now.

RACE: Obama's boost from higher black turnout will be more than offset by the reluctance of a percentage of white voters. Harvey Gantt lost Senate races twice and the most recent black statewide elected official was Ralph Campbell, who lost in 2004.

SUB-ROSA CAMPAIGN: McCain may not have spent as much on TV and radio ads, but his campaign and the Republican National Committee have flooded the state with negative robocalls and mailers. They're not getting the same publicity, but they could work.

PALIN: McCain may not be beloved by socially conservative Democrats, but his running mate is. Sarah Palin's rallies have drawn huge and enthusiastic crowds, and she may bring many of those same folks back to the polling places on Election Day as well.

MILITARY: McCain is a former prisoner of war with a lot of expertise in foreign policy. He's tailor-made for the state's veterans and active-duty service members at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, not to mention members of the National Guard.

PUNDITS: Democratic political consultant Gary Pearce, Republican consultant Carter Wrenn, and Washington Post analyst Chris Cillizza all say that Obama won't win North Carolina. Most others will only say Obama could win here.

Alex Castellanos says Sen. Elizabeth Dole's latest ad is over the line.

Speaking on CNN's "Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer today, the Republican political consultant said that an ad attacking Dole's opponent, Kay Hagan, for accepting money from the founder of an atheist advocacy group.

"When you're making ads that say 'There is no God,' it usually means your campaign doesn't have a prayer," he said.

Castellanos, who grew up in Harnett County and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, got his start in politics with the campaigns of Sen. Jesse Helms, creating the famous "White Hands" ad that claimed Harvey Gantt supported racial quotas.

Now a national political consultant, Castellanos told Blitzer that Hagan's links to a founder of the Godless Americans PAC are fair game, but he thought the ad took the wrong approach. 

"There's a way to make this attack," he said. "There's a way to say, 'Look this lady goes to church, believes in God, but look who she's taking money from.' ... There's a fair way to bring up who you're associated with. This seems to cross the line."

He said the ad also leaves Dole vulnerable to a counterattack from Hagan. 

Beverly Perdue and Barack Obama are side-by-side in a new mailer.

The N.C. Democratic Party paid for the mailer, which feature's the party's gubernatorial and presidential candidates and the words "Democrats we trust to fight for us."

The photograph of the two dates to the run-up to the May primary, when it was used by the Perdue campaign in a mailer targeted at black voters.

In a sign of how competitive North Carolina has become, the new mailer was sent to a larger group of voters, including unaffiliated and white voters.

"Bev Perdue's campaign to create jobs and fight for our economy has been endorsed by the leaders we trust, including Senator Barack Obama, North Carolina teachers, police, nurses and over a dozen mayors across the state, including former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt and current Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess," it reads on the back side.

DENVER - Gov. Mike Easley told North Carolina delegates to the Democratic National Convention this morning that Harvey Gantt's U.S. Senate races laid the groundwork for Barack Obama in North Carolina.

"We've got a score to settle," Easley said, reports Jim Morrill.

Gantt, Charlotte's first African-American mayor, beat Easley in a runoff to win the 1990 Democratic Senate nomination. He went on to lose to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms that year and again in 1996.

"We had a chance to elect the first African-American statewide in North Carolina and we came that close and fell short," Easley said.

Later Easley told reporters the Gantt campaigns "showed that race is something you can transcend, and I think Barack Obama has done that."

More after the jump.

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is a rock star.

Some Dome readers who are not fans of the Salisbury Republican objected to our characterization of her as a "rock star" in a post today.

For the record, the term is a reflection of her name recognition and ability to woo voters on the stump, not an endorsement.

Still, don't take our word for it:

USA Today headline: "'Rock star' Dole protects lead in key Senate race." (July 1, 2002)

Durham Herald-Sun: "Dole had become a rock star of the political world without ever holding an elected office. (Sept. 5, 2002)

George Stephanopolous, former adviser to Bill Clinton and ABC News host: "She's a political rock star." (Char-O, Nov. 10, 2002)

Harvey Gantt, on Erskine Bowles' race against Richard Burr: "I don't think we're running against somebody who has the status of a rock star. ... I do not know Mr. Burr very well, but I would not think he has the status of a Liddy Dole." (Char-O, Sept. 25, 2003)

Bowles, again on Burr: "I'm not running against a rock star." (GN-R, Sept. 12, 2004)

Greensboro News & Record: "By contrast, political analysts frequently use the term 'rock star' to describe Dole's name recognition and appeal." (Sept. 5, 2007)

Charlotte Observer: "Pundits like to say she has rock-star qualities on the stump." (Char-O, Nov. 4, 2007)

Burr: "If you really want to know what Elizabeth Dole is like, she's a rock star." (N&O, Feb. 22, 2008)

Barack Obama won the nomination thanks to Southern cities.

An analysis of voting patterns by the Center for Rural Strategies shows that the Democratic presidential nominee won cities in the South handily, helping deliver the region to him despite his losses in rural counties.

Sen. Obama won the Southern cities by about the same margin that Clinton won Appalachia — and urban areas in the South delivered more than twice the number of votes as were cast in all of Appalachia.

They note that Hillary Clinton winning Appalachia by 750,000 votes and Obama winning Southern cities by double that number.

In North Carolina at least, Obama clearly ran an urban-centered campaign, focusing on the Interstate 85 corridor from Charlotte to Raleigh, with side trips to Fayetteville.

And with stops like Research Triangle Park, he was clearly aiming for the New South — a strategy that failed in the past for candidates like Harvey Gantt.

As noted: previously, Democratic consultant Brad Crone says that things have changed.

Hat Tip: Chris Kromm

Richard Moore, a Democratic candidate for governor, has a new tv ad questioning whether Beverly Perdue can be trusted because of a vote she cast in the legislature in 1987, Mark Johnson reports.

What the ad says: “Some decisions say a lot about character. Like the time Bev Perdue voted against tougher laws to investigate hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. It’s true. Perdue was one of only two Democrats to vote against Dan Blue’s law that gave the SBI more powers to investigate the KKK. A law supported by most Republicans and the entire black legislative caucus. Is Bev Perdue a Democrat we can trust?”

The background: As a member of the N.C. House of Representatives, Perdue voted against a bill that authorized the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate possible hate crimes without being called into the case by local law enforcement. Before the bill became law, the SBI entered such a case only at the request of police or sheriffs’ departments.

Perdue was one of two Democrats in the legislature to oppose the bill. It passed the Senate unanimously. In the House, there were seven no votes: five Republicans, Perdue and Rep. Gerald Anderson, another Democrat.

Perdue’s campaign said she did not recall the vote and that, given the context of other votes she cast, it must be a “misvote.” She would have been voting against her party leadership, which would have been unusual for a freshman. Legislators who push the wrong button when voting can, and often do, ask to have their vote corrected afterward.

Perdue spokesman David Kochman said other votes at the same time better reflect her record on civil rights, such as voting in favor of making Martin Luther King Day a paid state holiday.

Otherwise, the campaign contends, she would not have gained the endorsements she has received from black leaders such as former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.

Is the ad accurate? Yes.