First Lady Laura Bush is in Raleigh for a fund raiser this afternoon for Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The tea will be held at the Inside-the-Beltline home of North Hills developer John Kane, who in June hosted a fund raiser featuring President Bush to benefit GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, Rob Christensen reports. 

The private event is being held beneath the radar. There was no announcement from the Dole campaign that the fund raiser was being held.

Earlier this year, the First Lady also attended a fund raiser for Dole in Asheville.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's political action committee has received $848,615 in the last three years.

The Leadership Circle PAC is separate from Dole's campaign committee, so it can receive bigger contributions from donors. As a recent report and database from NPR's Marketplace shows, leadership PACs like it are booming.

Many of Dole's contributors are familiar faces.

Between December of 2004 and December of 2007, her leadership PAC received $20,000 from lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger and his wife, Suzanne; $16,750 from former gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and his wife, Shari; and $10,000 from SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight.

Other donations came from Raleigh lawyer Kieran Shanahan, CaptiveAire owner Bob Luddy, her husband Bob, Luther Hodges Jr., billionaire resort builder Kirk Kerkorian, Raleigh developer John Kane, and former Dole running mate Jack Kemp.

The Leadership Circle PAC also received money from other PACs, including the Progress Energy PAC, Wachovia Employees Good Government Fund, the N.C. Farm Bureau, and PACs for R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco Co., Duke Energy and Federal Express.

Pat McCrory received $2.2 million in donations by the end of June.

The Republican gubernatorial nominee raised $1.1 million from donors in the second quarter of 2008, according to a report filed with the State Board of Elections.

Major donors included Belk executive John Belk, former U.S. Sen. Jim Broyhill, Bojangles owner Joseph Drury, Nascar team owner Rick Hendrick, Raleigh real estate executive John Kane, CaptiveAire Systems owner Bob Luddy, Variety Wholesalers executive James Pope and Duke Energy president Ellen Ruff.

He received only $450 in the second quarter from political action committees. 

His campaign has received no loans.

He had cash on hand of $709,448 at the end of the second quarter. 

By accident or design, there were no chances to photograph President Bush and Pat McCrory.

The president touched down at Raleigh-Durham International Airport at 4:47 p.m., greeting Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and Wake County Commissioner Joe Bryan, Ben Niolet reports.

After greeting a high-school student being recognized for his volunteer work, Bush headed to a fundraiser at Raleigh developer John Kane's home for the Republican gubernatorial candidate around 5:30 p.m.

Near the home, people lined the road, some holding signs supporting the president.

Bush left the fundraiser shortly after 6 p.m. As the president's limo departed, McCrory came outside Kane's home and waved to the motorcade, and Air Force One departed RDU at 6:56 p.m. 

The N.C. Democratic Party has attacked McCrory for his ties to Bush in a video, but McCrory has said that's not relevant to his gubernatorial campaign.

President Bush will be in Raleigh today, but the only trace you see of him may be a congested rush hour.

Bush is appearing at a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory. The event will be late Friday afternoon at the home of Raleigh developer John Kane, who lives north of the Carolina Country Club, Ben Niolet reports.

The event is closed to the public and press, so there’s not much chance to actually see Bush. But folks driving between the airport and Raleigh late Friday afternoon might know the president is in town.
White House and local officials say they either don't know or can't discuss Bush's route between the airport and the fundraiser.

Lt. Everett Clendenin, a spokesman for the state Highway Patrol, said he was not familiar with Bush’s travel plans, but said presidential traffic delays are usually quick.

"By what we've seen in the past, it does have an impact on traffic, but the good news is it clears quickly," Clendenin said. "It may be an inconvenience for a short time, but the ones we’ve been involved with, it’s uneventful and there’s some moderate congestion."

President Bush will be coming to Raleigh next month to raise money for GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory and the state Republican Party.

Bush is scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser on July 20 at the home of John Kane, the chairman of Kane Realty Corp., who is redeveloping the North Hills area, Rob Christensen reports.

"The president will be coming in for a fundraising event," confirmed Jack Hawke, McCrory’s chief consultant. "There are still a lot of people in North Carolina that are wiling to take part in a fundraising event where the president is a guest of honor. We expect to do very well."

With the president's ratings so low, having Bush come in for a campaign event carries political risks. McCrory, the Charlotte mayor, is facing Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the governor's race.

But Hawke said national issues will have little impact on the governor's race.

"Our campaign will concentrate on the state of North Carolina and the problems the state has — from corruption, to mismanagement, to a high tax rate," he said. "That has very little with what is going on at the national level."

John Kane, the developer of North Hills, will hold a fundraiser tonight in Raleigh for Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The event had 60 hosts at $1,000 per couple, according to Mark Stephens, a Dole strategist.

Kane is bipartisan in his giving. He recently held a fund raiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore.

Dole also had a luncheon fundraiser earlier in the day in Raleigh.

Earlier in the week, Democratic Gov. Mike Easley appeared at a Greensboro fundraiser for state Sen. Kay Hagan, a candidate for the Democratic nomination to face Dole.