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Karl Rove, chief political advisor to President George W. Bush, said Barack Obama's operation overwhelmed John McCain's campaign in North Carolina in 2008.

Rove, who was in Raleigh to help raise $425,000 for Sen. Richard Burr on Thursday, was asked about Obama's victory over McCain, Rob Christensen reports. It was the first time in 32 years that a Democratic presidential candidate had carried the state.

"President Obama had a big tactical advantage that allowed him to nip the state by less than four tenths of one percent or something like that," Rove said in an interview. "Between June and November he raised and spent $850 million to John McCain's $525 million. That's a big difference. If you can come in here and cover the state as did in the end with television advertising and McCain had no dollars to respond, that's a problem."

"The imbalance in organization, media and campaign activity in this state was enormous," Rove said. "Of course one out of every five adults in this state is African-American and they voted for Obama in numbers much larger than they turned out before."

Former White House advisor Karl Rove helped raise about $400,000 Thursday night in Raleigh for the re-election campaign of GOP Sen. Richard Burr, according to the event's organizers.

The event at the Angus Barn restaurant, one of the larger fund raiser for Burr, featured Rove, who the chief political strategist for former President George W. Bush.

The event's general chairman was Greensboro business executive Louis DeJoy, the spouse of Aldona Wos, a former U.S. ambassador Estonia. The event's chairman was Raleigh attorney Jim Cain and his Helen. Cain is a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Both DeJoy and Cain are veteran GOP fund raisers.

Among the events co-chairs were Ann and Jim Goodnight, the founder of SAS,  the Cary software company;builder Jeff Ammons and his wife Beth, North Hills developer John Kane and his wife Willa, former Raleigh City Councilman Kieran Shanahan and his wife Tina;  Golden Corral executive Ted Fowler and his wife Glenda Fowler.

The event was closed to the news media which drew some criticism from the Democrats.

"Burr either doesn't want a picture taken with his old buddy or he doesn't want North Carolina voters to be reminded of his dismal record of rubber stamping the policies that wrecked the North Carolina economy in the first place," said Deirdre Murphy, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is hoping Karl Rove will raise him some campaign cash this week. One of Burr's Democratic challengers, Cal Cunningham, is also using Rove to raise cash.

Rove, who was the chief political advisor for President George W. Bush, will be in Raleigh Thursday night for a fundraiser for Burr, Rob Christensen reports.

Cunningham on Monday sent out an e-mail also trying to cash in on the Rove visit, with the headline "Help us fight back against Rove & Burr."

"Karl Rove is coming to North Carolina to help bring in the big bucks for his Washington friend and political protege, Richard Burr," wrote Morgan Jackson, senior advisor to the Cunningham campaign. "Help us fight back by contributing $5 or more today."

Details of the Burr event, which will be closed to the news media, have not been made public.

Karl Rove, the chief strategist for President George W. Bush, will be coming to Raleigh next month to help raise money for the re-election campaign of Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

Although details have not yet been announced, Rove agreed to be the headliner at a fundraiser on Jan. 28 in Raleigh, Rob Christensen reports. The event is being put together by Louis DeJoy, a Greensboro businessman who was state finance chairman for the McCain-Palin ticket in 2008. Also helping out is Jim Cain, a Raleigh lawyer and former U.S. ambassador to Denmark who was also a Bush fundraiser.

Rove was not only closely associated with Bush, but he also helped recruit both Burr and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole to run for the chamber.

Rove appeared at a Winston-Salem fundraiser for Burr when he ran in 2004 against Democrat Erskine Bowles. Since leaving the White House, Rove has worked as a political analyst for Fox News, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.

Karl Rove thinks Sen. Richard Burr could help save the GOP.

In a proposed roadmap out of the political wilderness published last week in Newsweek, the former political strategist for President Bush argued that Burr could be a fresh face for the Republican Party.

He argued that the "party's face" is now its Congressional leadership.

Senate and House Republicans will be seen more than any party chair or 2012 aspirant. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner must put on center stage their most persuasive, compelling members: Richard Burr and Jon Kyl in the Senate, and Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris, Peter Roskam and Kevin McCarthy in the House, for example.

Burr is no stranger to TV interviews, having spent a fair amount of time boosting Sen. John McCain's presidential bid this year.

Facing a potentially tough re-election fight in 2010, he probably wouldn't object to spending more time getting his name out there either.

It's also worth noting that Rove recruited Burr to run for Senate.

John Edwards is continuing his return to the public stage.

The former North Carolina senator will debate former adviser to President Bush Karl Rove on the economy and the election in San Francisco today.

The point-counterpoint discussion will be held by the Commercial Finance Association.

It will be Edwards' second public event since he acknowledged in August that he had an affair in 2006. He did not address the matter during an appearance in Indiana Tuesday.

Edwards and Rove have a contentious history. During his presidential campaign, Edwards repeatedly called for Rove to be fired, and later issued a simple statement "Goodbye, good riddance" when Rove left. (AP) 

The New York Times says North Carolina is a toss-up.

The newspaper had previously not included the state in its round-up of battlegrounds and had it leaning towards John McCain on its electoral map, but that changed today: 

North Carolina, a state that is normally is about as red as they get, is being moved into the toss-up column. Mr. Obama has poured tons of money into the state, and is spending a lot of time there, and Republicans are growing increasingly anxious that he might take it away from them. 

Meantime, Congressional Quarterly also moved the state into its "No Clear Favorite" category today.

At the outset, McCain had the edge — the GOP has won 9 out of the past 10 contests — but his comfort margin has evaporated. Obama can count on a large African-American turnout. 

The Cook Political Report, MSNBC's editors, Republican consultant Karl Rove, and editors of The Atlantic Monthly also consider North Carolina a toss-up.  

The Rothenberg Political Report still calls the state "Leans McCain," but his ratings haven't been publicly updated since late September.

The Cook Political Report ranks North Carolina a presidential "toss-up."

Noted Washington political analyst Charlie Cook has previously included the state's 15 Electoral College votes in the "Leans Republican" category.

He is the first of the big three analysts to say the state is in play. The Rothenberg Political Report still calls the state "Leans McCain," while CQ Politics says it "Leans Republican."

However, MSNBC's political editors, Republican consultant Karl Rove and the Atlantic Monthly have said it is a toss-up.

Karl Rove says North Carolina's electoral votes are a toss-up.

In a map posted by Rove & Co. on Sunday, the former adviser to President Bush includes North Carolina among the states that are not leaning toward either Barack Obama or John McCain.

Based on a 14-day average of public polls, he shows a zero percent difference between the two here.

States within three percentage points of zero are considered toss-ups by Rove.

In May, Rove said that McCain would win North Carolina. 

Karl Rove says John McCain will win North Carolina.

A map by a company run by the former political strategist for President Bush obtained by ABC News lists the state among Republican strongholds in the November presidential election. Still, there are some questions about its validity.

"States are allocated in Rove's exercise based on an average of public polls, which many pollsters would tell you is a rather unscientific way to look at the data," notes ABC's Jake Tapper. 

The map shows McCain with a 5 percent average margin over likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama, naming only states within a 3 percent margin as "toss-ups."

But some liberal commentators are saying that is too broad a definition, noting that North Carolina and seven other state would be in play if the margin were five or six points instead.