Pat McCrory is staying in the political limelight.

Although the longtime Charlotte mayor is retiring from his current post at the end of this term, he will help kick off the state Republican convention this weekend.

McCrory, who lost a bid for governor in November, will deliver a speech entitled "The Road to Victory" at the beginning of the session Friday.

"As a highly effective mayor and visionary leader, Pat McCrory is just the right person to help North Carolina grassroots Republicans set a course for the future," said party chairwoman Linda Daves in a statement. "Pat is the kind of leader that makes fellow Republicans proud to be on his team."

McCrory recently criticized the House budget proposal.

Embattled state Rep. Cary Allred will resign.

The Alamance County Republican submitted a letter to House clerk Denise Weeks after noon today saying he will leave the legislature effective 2 p.m. on Monday.

It has been my honor and privilege to serve the people of Alamance County and the 64th District in the House of Representatives.

As General Douglas MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

With that, I bid thee farewell.

Calls to Allred's home and cell phone were not answered Friday.

Allred, who faced ethics questions after inappropriately hugging a teen-aged page, said Thursday that he might step down in September, but also hinted he might resign as early as Monday.

He had previously changed his mind about leaving the Republican Party, however, so some observers, such as Greensboro News-Record reporter Mark Binker, were skeptical.

State Republican chairwoman Linda Daves called on Allred to resign earlier this month.

Update: "It's for the good of the House," said Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican and House minority leader. "Everybody needs to remember he had a 30 year career and I hope everybody won’t judge him on one or two events. He did a lot of good."

The resignation would end the ethics inquiries against Allred.

"If he's not a member of the House there's no reason to go forward with it," said Bill Holmes, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney.

Update: Hackney issued a statement on the resignation.

"I appreciate Rep. Allred's years of service to this state and will remember him as a staunch advocate for the people of Alamance County. I wish him well in his retirement," Hackney said.

State Rep. Cary Allred will stick with his party after all.

Allred, a Burlington Republican, told reporters he was thinking about leaving the party after several of his Republican House colleages reported they were disturbed by his conduct on the House floor.

As late as Thursday, Allred was saying he was planning to switch his registration to "unaffiliated." Late Thursday, state Republican chairwoman Linda Daves called for his resignation.

By Friday he had a change of heart.

"I am not going to change my party," Allred said. "Friends of mine called and asked me not to."

He said he is not taking Daves' rebuke seriously.

"She never did anything to help me get elected. She doesn't know me. I don't know her," Allred said. "She does not know my constituents and my constituents don't know her."

State Republican Party Chairwoman Linda Daves says Rep. Cary Allred should resign his seat in the state legislature.

Daves just released a statement calling for Allred, a Burlington Republican, to step down following the release Wednesday of a report in which several of Allred's legislative colleagues said they were revolted by his actions during a Monday night House session three weeks ago.

The report included the accounts of several Republican legislators who said they smelled alcohol on Allred's breath and saw him give an inappropriately long hug to a teenage page from his district. Several lawmakers said the 17-year-old girl seemed embarrassed by what one member called a "gruesome bear hug."

"Conducting oneself in an honorable and ethical manner while acting as a public servant should be a mandate for both political parties," Daves said in the statement.

Daves also took issue with a quote attributed to Allred by one of his Republican colleagues. "I am 62 years old, and I'm worth $2 million. People ought to show me respect," Allred was quoted in the report as telling colleagues who confronted him that night.

"Being 62 years old and worth $2 million does not entitle one to hold elected office as a Republican," Daves said. "The Republican Party is not a party of entitlement."

Allred has said he is considering leaving the Republican Party to become "unaffliated."

Republicans will have a chance tonight to hear about how the GOP should mount its comeback from the four candidates running for state GOP chairman.

Chad Adams, Tom Fetzer, Marcus Kindley and Bill Randall will speak tonight to the Western Wake Republican Club annual spring fling dinner in Cary, Rob Christensen reports.

The dinner starts at 6 p.m. at the Business Networking Center at 649 Walnut Street in Cary.

The state party chairmanship race will be decided June 12-14 at the state Republican convention at the Raleigh Convention Center. The four are seeking to replace Linda Daves, who is not seeking another term.

The head of the N.C. Republican Party said the Senate tax plan is a "classic scam."

Chairwoman Linda Daves said today that a plan from Senate Democrats to reduce the sales tax while expanding it to cover services is "bait and switch."

"Pretend to be reducing taxes by slight increments while at the same time creating new taxes to raise more revenue than ever before," she said in a statement. "They hope that we will not notice as our overall tax burden is increased by $600 million."

The proposal, expected to be discussed today, is a version of a recent plan to modernize the tax code put forward by a bipartisan committee from the Institute for Emerging Issues.

The GOP's reaction is the first sign that the Senate debate will be more partisan.

Marcus Kindley says he's a CEO, not a stockbroker.

The candidate for chair of the N.C. Republican Party took exception to a recent Dome item which identified him by the latter job title.

"That's kind of like calling your editor a mailboy down in the mailroom," he said.

Kindley noted that he is the longtime chief executive officer of Intercarolina Financial Services, a Greensboro firm with 70 employees.

He faces Wake County GOP chair David Robinson and former state Sen. Woody White. Current chair Linda Daves is not running again.

Former state Sen. Woody White of Wilmington over the weekend announced his candidacy for the state GOP chairmanship.

White, 39, is a lawyer and former law partner of Patrick Ballantine, the GOP nominee for governor in 2004, Rob Christensen reports.

He has been weighing a bid for several weeks, but announced his candidacy in a letter sent to members of the state GOP Executive Committee.

State Chair Linda Daves has said she will not seek another term at the state Republican convention in June.

Also running is David Robinson, chairman of the Wake County Republican Party, and Guilford county stockbroker Marcus Kindley.

Previously: White considering a run

Linda Daves had some harsh words for Sarah Palin.

At a recent question-and-answer session with top-ranking Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the North Carolina GOP chairwoman brought up a lingering issue from the 2008 campaign, according to MSNBC:

Another interesting moment during the question-and-answer session came when North Carolina Party Chair Linda Daves rose to ask if there was a budget for clothing candidates, an obvious -- and sharp-edged -- reference to Sarah Palin's paid-for campaign wardrobe.

In response, a Republican National Committee member in charge of the budget blamed the McCain campaign, which had blamed the RNC during the campaign.

David Robinson, chairman of the Wake County Republican Party, announced today that he wants to be the chairman of the state GOP.

Robinson issued a press release announcing his candidacy to be state GOP chairman. He said the state party should "challenge government corruption and liberal agendas" every day of the year.

State Chairwoman Linda Daves has said she will not seek re-election to another term. Former Lee County Commissioner Chad Adams and former state Sen. Woody White are considering runs. Guilford County stockbroker Marcus Kindley has announced that he is seeking the post.