U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will be featured in a conference call today with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The call, for the benefit of reporters who cover Washington from around the country, is meant to discuss a new HHS report on rural health care, Barb Barrett reports.

Given the public debate on health reform, it’s also certain to push the Obama administration’s points for why health reform is needed.

Hagan, of Greensboro, is one of the moderate Democrats who have been closely watched in the Senate this year for clues on how she’ll vote.

Her spokesman, Dave Hoffman, pointed out this morning that Hagan is one of a few senators who already cast a vote on reform; she voted "yes" for the version that went through the Senate health committee last summer.

But Hagan repeatedly said she was going to wait for the Senate finance committee’s version of the bill, which included details on paying for health reform.

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U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will oppose Kathleen Sebelius' nomination.

The Winston-Salem Republican said today that he cannot support the Kansas governor's nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services because of her recent veto of an abortion bill.

On Thursday, Sebelius vetoed a bill that would have amended Kansas law on late-term abortions, questioning whether it was constitutional and suggesting it would lead to intimidation of doctors.

Burr said that he had some concerns about Sebelius' "tax problems" after he estimtony in March, though he did not think they were "disqualifying."

"However, I am troubled by her decision late last week to veto a Kansas bill that would have tightened restrictions on late term abortions, and I intend to vote against her confirmation," he said in a statement.

Full statement after the jump.

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It wasn't the Oscars, but it was a close second.

Gov. Beverly Perdue hobnobbed with other governors in the State Dining Room of the White House Sunday. Instead of Sean Penn and Kate Winslet, they heard from President Obama and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

Perdue, who skipped the president's inauguration to focus on work, said it was "a real privilege" to represent North Carolina.

"I don't have a bar to compare it to," she said. "It was very inviting — very beautiful, wonderful food, wonderful music, and the president spoke so eloquently. Everybody was dolled up, so it was a real special night."

Perdue sat with Govs. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, Brad Henry of Oklahoma and Jon Huntsman of Utah under a seating arrangement designed to bridge partisan and geographic boundaries.

She also met with other female Democratic governors, including potential Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Here's a mostly complete list of Barack Obama's surrogates in North Carolina for the general election:

Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and his wife Jill; Michelle Obama; Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, former Govs. Jim Hunt and Ray Mabus; former Sen. Bill Bradley; former Sen. Jean Carnahan; U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, David Price, Brad Miller, G.K. Butterfield and Jim Cooper; Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Secretary of State Elaine Marshall; former Agriculture Commissioner Britt Cobb; state Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand; state Rep. Dan Blue; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Lambert; Maj. Gen. Scott Gration; professor Sarah Sewall; veterans Paul Bucha, John McCary and Jon Kuniholm; musicians James Taylor, Jay-Z and Tift Merritt; actresses Alfre Woodard, Jurnee Smollett, Tatyana Ali, Ellen Pompeo, Danielle Panabaker and Edie Falco; members of the cast of "The Wire"; actors Kal Penn and Harold Perrineau; comedian Chris Rock, and Nascar driver Junior Johnson. The daughter of Jackie Robinson was scheduled to come but did not make it.

Previously: Obama's surrogates in the primary.

Kathleen Sebelius stumped for Barack Obama again this weekend.

The Kansas governor previously toured North Carolina on behalf of the Democratic presidential candidate in April during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton. She returned in June for a fundraiser for Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan.

On Friday, she made two stops in the western part of the state, arguing that Republican John McCain had ties to Wall Street's current problems and rallying women, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

"It isn't just a string of bad luck that produced the tumult that we see on Wall Street," Sebelius said at a stop in an Asheville coffee shop. "It's a stream of bad policy and a stream of deregulation of the financial services industry."

The stops were part of a ramped-up effort by Obama to bring surrogates to North Carolina. His wife, Michelle, and running mate, Joe Biden, have made recent stops, and former Missouri Sen. Jean Carnahan will visit Tuesday.

Hat Tip: Laura Leslie 

DENVER – Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stopped by a meeting of the North Carolina delegation this morning and made a pitch for the Tar Heel state to change senators.

“You have an opportunity to retire Sen. Dole,” said Sibelius. “Kay Hagan will make a fabulous U.S. senator.”

Dole, of course, has long-time ties to Kansas, where her husband Bob Dole, represented the state in the Senate, reports Rob Christensen.

Sebelius, who was regarded as one of Barack Obama's finalists for vice president, also put in a plug for the national ticket.

“John McCain is obviously more of the same,” Sebelius said. “If you are hurting under George Bush, will hurt more under John McCain.”

Gov. Mike Easley will attend an economic summit for Barack Obama.

MSNBC reports that Easley will be one of 16 Democratic governors meeting today in Chicago today to discuss the state of the economy, including possible running mates Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Ted Strickland of Ohio and Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

Earlier, a spokeswoman for the governor said that he might not be able to go because of ongoing budget negotiations. 

Who didn't play hooky to see Barack Obama?

As noted previously, three governors in town for a training session at the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership showed up at an Obama event Monday: Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado.

Though they were on the guest list, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley did not show.

They had a good reason, of course. The Hunt Institute had scheduled discussions on education all day Monday in Chapel Hill, and seeing Obama meant making a 40-minute drive to Raleigh and missing a healthy chunk of the three-day session.

But it's worth noting who else didn't make the drive: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Guam Gov. Felix Perez Camacho.

Camacho and Pawlenty have a good excuse: They're Republicans.

For their part, Sebelius, Napolitano and Kaine may not have wanted to fuel further speculation that they'll be picked as Obama's vice president (though that didn't stop Schweitzer from glad-handing.) And Doyle and Sebelius have already done their duties here.

Update: Sebelius and Napolitano were at an Obama fundraiser in Chapel Hill. 

Kathleen Sebelius is returning to North Carolina.

The Kansas governor, an oft-mentioned potential running mate for Barack Obama, will be at a private fundraiser in Chapel Hill at noon today, Laura Leslie reports on her blog, Isaac Hunter's Tavern.

Sebelius and more than a dozen other governors are in town for a meeting arranged by former Gov Jim Hunt. The fundraiser's apparently been planned for quite some time. But what are the odds that Obama and one of his most-talked-about potential VPs end up in the Triangle on the same day?

Sebelius came to North Carolina in April for a voter-registration tour, touting his approach on the economy and avoidance of hot-button social issues.

Obama will speak at noon at the state fairgrounds.

Update: Sebelius will be at this event with Sens. Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester. 

Beverly Perdue got a brief mention in the New York Times.

In an article about future female presidential candidates, Week in Review writer Kate Zernike says the most likely candidate will be from the South or west of the Mississippi, possibly a Democrat who has won in a red state.

Later in the story, she mentions possible female running mates for Barack Obama, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. 

"Beverly Perdue, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, who is running for governor, is also named as a prospect," she writes.

Perdue is also listed on an accompanying graphic of 12 potential female candidates, next to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Dome thinks Perdue will probably have to become governor before she's considered running mate or candidate material, however.