Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis announced that he had raised $109,513 for a U.S. Senate bid next year.

Lewis has hired Joe Trippi, a veteran national media consultant who most recently had run the presidential campaigns of John Edwards in 2008 and Howard Dean in 2004, reports Rob Christensen. Trippi will be overseeing the launch of Lewis’ online fund raising, Lewis said.

Trippi, in a statement, said Lewis had the life story, and the vision to raise money nationally on line.

Also helping Lewis is Joyce Fitzpatrick, a Raleigh public relations executive and a member of Lewis finance committee.

Lewis began to become known in political circles last year as a fund raiser for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Lewis, 47, has worked 20 years as a corporate attorney. The grandson of sharecroppers, Lewis graduated from Duke University and Harvard law school. He and his wife and three children live in Chapel Hill.

He is one of a number of Democrats who are looking at challenging Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year. Other include former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and Congressmen Mike McIntyre and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

Could Ty Harrell represent us in the Great White North?

A Canadian magazine thinks so.

In its Dec. 17 issue, Embassy magazine included state Rep. Ty Harrell on a list of possible ambassadors to Canada, once "one of the most sought-after positions in American foreign service" but now maybe not-so-much.

"There is nobody clamouring for the job, and that silence is incredibly interesting," Canada expert Christopher Sands told the magazine.

Here's what it had to say about Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat:

Democratic state representative from the important swing state of North Carolina. This rising star endorsed Mr. Obama while John Edwards was still in the primaries. Wife is Canadian.

The magazine also included Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, former Rep. David Bonior, outgoing Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, among others. 

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will appear at Davidson College on Thursday.

Dean will speak at 2 p.m. on behalf of Barack Obama, while Burr will speak 3:30 p.m. on behalf of John McCain. The events are open to the public.

Dean's talk is sponsored by the Young Democrats and Burr's speech is sponsored by the College Republicans. The two groups have launched a bipartisan drive to get all of Davidson's 1,700 students registered to vote.

Thursday's visit by Dean and Burr will occur one day before the Oct. 10 voter registration deadline. Students will be able to register at the event.

The head of the Republican Party is coming to Raleigh tomorrow.

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan will host a roundtable discussion with local Republican leaders at the state GOP headquarters at 2:30 p.m.

Rich Beeson, the RNC's political director, and Bill Stepien, deputy political director for the John McCain campaign, will also be at the event.

The visit is part of the "Victory 2008 Tour" to various states to promote voter registration, microtargeting, get-out-the-vote and fundraising efforts.

It follows a similar visit by Democratic Party head Howard Dean by 12 days.

If this is Friday, this must be ... Colorado?

Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean's tour of Southern states must be wearing him out a little, since he made a brief slip this morning.

"We want not just Barack Obama to be president of the United States, we want Bev Perdue as the next governor of the state of Colorado," he said.

Dome missed the slip at the time, as did most of the cheering crowd.

Hat Tip: Matt Willoughby

A handful of Hillary Clinton supporters showed up at a Barack Obama event today.

Members of the "Just Say No Deal" coalition traveled from Durham and Fayetteville to hold up anti-Obama signs at a speech by Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean outside the state party headquarters in Raleigh.

Their handmade signs said "No-bama," "18 Million Voices — Hear Us Now," and "May 31, 2008, The Day the Donkey Died" — the last being a reference to the day the party rules committee decided seat only some of the Michigan and Florida delegates.

Early childhood educator Stuart Asbel, 39, of Durham, said the decision, which favored Obama, amounted to a "fascist coup" that disregarded the votes of Clinton supporters in a state where neither campaigned and one where only Clinton's name was on the ballot.

"He's not my candidate," he said of Obama.

Retiree Vivian Bailey, 69, of Fayetteville, said she did not think Obama is qualified to be commander in chief and worried about things she's read about him on the Internet.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Dean said he thinks the party will be unified in November.

"I think the party's starting to unify, and I think we'll be unified by the time we get to the convention," he said.

Asked if Clinton's name should be put to a roll-call vote at the convention — one of the demands of her supporters — Dean declined to take a position.

"That's up to her," he said.

Bonus: Dean noted that one of the Clinton supporters at the rally headed his campaign in North Carolina.

Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean said North Carolina will not be ignored.

Speaking in front of a crowd of about 100 at the state Democratic headquarters in Raleigh this morning, the former Vermont governor said that the party will reach out "to a lot of people that we haven't reached out to in a long time."

"The Democratic Party has changed a lot in 30 years, and so has the South," he said. "There is no reason for us ever to pass over a state anywhere."

The 15-minute speech was part of a "Register for Change" tour to boost presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as well as gubernatorial nominee Beverly Perdue and Senate nominee Kay Hagan.

Touring the state in a biodiesel-fueled bus, Dean will also make stops in Greensboro and Charlotte today, aimed at signing up volunteers for voter registration efforts here.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee is expected to come in the next few weeks.

Dean, who has led a "50-state strategy" aimed at building the party around the country, told reporters afterward that the party will have a "significant effort" in North Carolina, but he would not give specifics.

"I think you'll see us play here heavily," he said.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee is coming to North Carolina.

Robert M. "Mike" Duncan is on a three-week "Victory 2008 Tour" to meet with state Republican leaders and talk about presumptive presidential nominee John McCain.

"I am excited to meet with the grassroots activists, state leaders, and enthusiastic volunteers who are devoting their time and energy to elect John McCain and Republicans nationwide this November," he said in a statement.

Duncan will be traveling with McCain deputy campaign manager Mike DuHaime, Republican National Committee political director Rich Beeson and strategy director Bill Steiner.

The group will also visit battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Florida. 

The announcement comes on the cusp of a visit Friday by Democratic national chairman Howard Dean on behalf of Barack Obama.

Democratic national chairman Howard Dean will be in North Carolina next Friday as part of a national voter registration drive.

Dean, the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate, began the 50-state tour this week in President Bush’s home town of Crawford, Texas, reports Rob Christensen.

Dean is traveling in a bio-diesel bus in an effort to mobiize voters for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates.

Dean will be in Raleigh at 9 a.m. on Friday, then in Greensboro at noon, and in Charlotte at 3:30. Details of locations are still being worked out.