On the day before a key Senate vote on health reform, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan sent an email to Democratic party faithfuls asking for cash and reminding them of Republicans’ ways.

The e-mail (subject line: Yikes) began: “Imagine a battalion of right-wingers, tea partiers and ultraconservatives being elected and descending on Washington in January 2011.” It was sent through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and urged readers to donate $5 or more to the committee, Barb Barrett reports.

In the e-mail, Hagan recalled her own challenges in last year’s election: “I know first-hand what it is like when the extreme right comes after you with vicious personal attacks,” Hagan wrote. “I have seen the way they make up lies to suit their agenda, having no qualms about sullying a person's good name with deceitful tactics.”

The committee contributed millions to Hagan’s quest last year to defeat then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole. And the DSCC could prove pivotal to whoever is the state’s Democratic nominee against incumbent Republican Sen. Richard Burr. The Senate is scheduled to take a key procedural vote Saturday on moving forward with debate on health reform.

Former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker said Wednesday that he would not challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Wicker, a Raleigh lawyer and a Democrat, said he seriously considered a Senate bid this time and received strong encouragement to take the plunge, Rob Christensen reports.

"The demands of raising $15 million to $20 million is just an enormous amount of money," Wicker said.

He also cited the demands of a relatively young family and a full-time law practice.

"Richard Burr is going to be a tough opponent," Wicker said. "But it is a winnable race for a Democrat. About this time in the 2008 election cycle the Democrats were scrambling for a candidate, when Kay Hagan said yes then said no and then came back and said yes. A year is an eternity in politics. It may not look like a great year for Democrats. But it can change quickly, particularly if the economy improves."

Wicker is a former state House majority leader and was a candidate for governor in 2000.

There are two Democrats who have announced their candidacy: Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chapel Hill lawyer Kenneth Lewis. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been trying to convince former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, an Iraq veteran who previously decided not to run, to enter the race.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge previously decided not to run.

Lots of people seem to think U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will eventually vote "yes" on the health care reform bill moving through the Senate.

In an admittedly unscientific measure, Congress.org (which you may recognize as the new home of our former colleague Ryan Teague Beckwith) asked readers to pick how all 100 senators will vote on health care reform.

The idea, as RTB explains it, is to try to use group wisdom to identify the true swing votes and the people most deserving of letters, phone calls and lobbying efforts by both sides of the debate.

By Wednesday, 85 percent of the 74 people who had voted thought Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, would vote "yes." By contrast, 98 percent had Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, as voting against the bill.

Hagan has said she supports many of the proposals in the bill, but has remained vague on key points. The uncertainty has attracted a lot of attention from special interests.

So far group wisdom has identified only Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe as truly on the fence.

NAACP President William J. Barber led a delegation to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's Washington office today.

Barber was part of a lobbying effort by the NAACP, which says that 880,000 African-Americans have died over the last 10 years because of a lack of health insurance, Rob Christensen reports.

"This cause is one of the most important moral and civil rights issues of our day," Barber said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a coalition of groups supporting health care legislation is holding phone bank training sessions tonight in Asheville, Charlotte, the Triangle, and Wilimington to train people to call Hagan.

Planned Parenthood is planning to run phone banks every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from their offices.

On Wednesday, the Health Care Action Now Coalition will hold a news conference outside of Hagan's Greensboro office on Wednesday to highlight the need for a public option in the health care legislation.

With the Senate expected to take up a health care bill soon, Hagan has been the subject of a major lobbying effort. She supports in general Democratic proposals for health care, but has given herself wiggle room on some of the details.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has joined the ranks of those calling for an investigation of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina's recent mailing.

Just weeks after raising its premiums, the insurer mailed flyers that encouraged recipients to send the attached postcard to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan encouraging her to oppose a health care reform proposal in Congress to create a government run health plan.

Kinnaird asked Attorney General Roy Cooper and Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to examine whether the insurer violated the state's "do not call" registry or the restrictions on political activity by nonprofits, of which BCBS is one.

Other public officials, including Pitt County commissioners, have made similar requests for an inquiry.

TO RUN OR NOT TO RUN: For much of the fall, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge has played the role of a political Hamlet as he decides whether to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Etheridge had initially indicated he would not run for the Senate this time, but key Senate leaders prevailed on him to reconsider underscoring the importance of the national parties in Senate races. The Democrat's Senate organization was a crucial player in Kay Hagan's victory over incumbent Elizabeth Dole. (N&O)

GRADES OFF THE MARKET: The Wayne County school system has ordered an end to a fundraiser that allowed parents to buy extra credit for their children. The system says it may take further action. (N&O)

OBAMA MART: The store in Kabul is a taxpayers nightmare. Named after the U.S. president (it was Bush Mart, but Obama Mart is gaining acceptance), the store is chocked full of items that were clearly meant for U.S. soldiers or Marines but are now being sold to Afghans. Military officials say they monitor the stores for sensitive items. (N&O)

In last weekend’s House health reform vote, three of North Carolina’s conservative Democrats opposed the bill, despite an anti-abortion amendment designed to curry favor among Democrats who oppose abortion rights.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan declined Tuesday to say how she would have voted on the House bill, Barb Barrett reports.

"Our bill is going to be quite different from that bill," said Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat. "I would rather support what’s coming out of the Senate and see what we can get from a compromise position."

The House Democrats who voted against the bill were Reps. Heath Shuler of Waynesville, Mike McIntyre of Lumberton and Larry Kissell of Biscoe.

But Hagan does not favor the anti-abortion amendment, which would have restricted health insurance companies' ability to fund abortions if they compete for federal subsidies. Women seeking coverage would have to purchase their own insurance riders.

Hagan espoused the position that other moderate Democrats have favored, which is that health reform ought to keep the status quo regulations, which now prohibit federal funding of abortion.

"My preference would be not to change anything from the standpoint of the way we currently handle any sort of federal regulation," Hagan said Tuesday. "We don’t need to make any other changes."

ON SALE NOW: A $20 donation to a Goldsboro middle school will get a student 20 test points — 10 extra points on two tests of the student's choosing. That could raise a B to an A, or a failing grade to a D. The fundraiser has troubled state school official and some parents. (N&O)

DETAILS NEEDED: U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who represents a key vote on whether the Democratic health care reform bill moves ahead, said she wants to see details of a bill before she'll commit. Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, said that she remains firm on three main points of health reform: that health coverage be affordable and accessible, that a reform bill not increase the federal deficit and that insurance companies are barred from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. (N&O)

NO SHERIFF TAYLOR: Lincoln County has asked a judge to remove its sheriff, who has been indicted on felony charges related to covering up a fixed drunken driving investigation. (Charlotte Observer)

After an intense three-month campaign for the votes of North Carolina's House members, players in the health care debate including business, labor and the administration are now likely to focus their full attention on Sen. Kay Hagan. (N&O)

The state's new Racial Justice Act, which allows capital defendants or death row inmates to challenge the death penalty if race played a part in its application, has little traction. Judges have been ignoring requests of defendants to delay murder trials so they can file a challenge under the law. (N&O)

The state intends to finish the remaining five miles of Charlotte's Interstate 485 loop years ahead of schedule, Gov. Bev Perdue announced. To pay for it, the state will ask the contractor to pay for the work and get reimbursed later. (Char-O)

CHECK THE MAIL: Gov. Bev Perdue's administration has not responded to a letter from the state's District Attorneys complaining about the erosion of services for the mentally ill who are accused of crimes. (N&O)

JUDGE NOT: Sen. Kay Hagan has withdrawn her support for a possible lifetime federal appointment for a state judge who ruled in favor of a company that includes Hagan's husband. (Greensboro N & R)

SPEND AWAY: A higher sales tax means North Carolina consumers will get a larger break when they purchase energy-efficient appliances during this weekend's tax break. (AP)