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Kenneth Lewis won a straw poll taken Monday night at a Senate forum sponsored by the Durham for Obama committee.

But while Lewis won 57 percent of the votes, he did not capture the 70 percent needed to win the group's endorsement, reports Rob Christensen. Lewis, a Chapel Hill attorney who practices law in Durham, was the closest thing to the hometown candidate at the forum held before about 250 people at the St. Joseph's AME Church.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall finished a distant second with 32 percent followed by former state Sen. Cal Cunningham with 8 percent and Marcus Williams, a Lumberton attorney with 1 percent.

N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall made her candidacy official today, filing paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate.

Appearing at the State Board of Elections and surrounded by a dozen supporters, Marshall presented herself as the candidate in the Democratic primary with a record for taking on Wall Street, protecting small investors, and helping businesses, Lynn Bonner reports.

"The voters have something they can rely upon rather than folks that make very good stump speeches but don't have a track record," Marshall said. "I think that's a clear distinction between the candidates."

Three other candidates are running for the Democratic nomination: former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, a lawyer from Lexington, Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis, and Lumberton lawyer Marcus Williams. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican Marshall hopes to challenge, filed his paperwork with the state Board of Elections on Monday morning, though he did not deliver it in person.

Cal Cunningham, a former state senator and Iraqi war veteran, formally entered the U.S. Senate race this morning, promising to focus his campaign on North Carolina's struggling economy.

"The defining issue of this campaign is jobs," Cunnigham told about two dozen supporters outside a a 19th century cotton mill that has been redeveloped near downtown Raleigh.

Cunningham has in recent days outlined a series of proposals designed to encourage job creation, including tax credits for businesses that hire new workers, the temporary elimination of capitals gains taxes on small businesses, and the creation of a new bonus manufacturing tax credit to reward companies that research and manufacture their products in this country.

The 36-year old lawyer from Lexington, starts the race little known to voters across North Carolina but with encouragement from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and from the White House who view him as having the most potential against Republican Sen. Richard Burr in the fall. But polls suggest that the May 4th Democratic primary is wide open with Cunningham competing with Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Lumberton attorney Marcus Williams.

Cunningham made no mention of his Democratic opponents, but said that Burr is "a symbol of what is wrong in Washington" including the gridlock. He said that Burr had very little to show for his five years in the Senate.

Democratic Senate candidate Ken Lewis' call for a debate next week on job creation is getting a mixed response from his opponents in the May primary.

"The people of North Carolina are hurting now,” Lewis, a Chapel Hill lawyer, told about dozen supporters as he filed for his papers in Raleigh for his Senate seat. "Let's begin the debate now. Let's see who's got the the best plan, the best economic policy for creating jobs and putting people back to work."

Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, who plans to formally enter the race Thursday, proposed a debate at the state Democratic Executive Committee meeting on Saturday in Durham.

But Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said three forums were planned during the next month, which would give the candidates plenty of opportunity to discuss their views.

"We are going to deal with these guys plenty," said Thomas Mills, a Marshall strategist. "This is a political stunt. Elaine Marshall is the only one with a record. She has a record of making it easier for companies to do business in the state."

He said the three major candidates have agreed to forums in Fearington Village, Asheville and Winston-Salem in the coming weeks.

A fourth Democrat seeking the nomination is Marcus Williams, a Lumberton lawyer. The winner will likely face Republican Sen. Richard Burr in the fall. Burr is being challenged by Asheboro City Councilman Eddie Burks in the GOP primary.

A new poll shows the Democratic Senate candidates in a dead heat.

SurveyUSA's latest polls shows state Sen. Kay Hagan and Jim Neal virtually tied in the race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Hagan and Neal are essentially tied, with her receiving 21 percent support and him 20 percent. Lesser-known candidates Duskin Lassiter, Marcus Williams and Howard Staley trail with six percent, five percent and four percent, respectively.

Forty-five percent of voters were undecided.

The poll of 725 likely voters was conducted April 5-7. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.7 percent.

Kay Hagan continues to lead the pack in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, according to the results of the latest survey by Public Policy Polling.

PPP surveyed 1,100 likely Democratic primary voters on March 29-30. It found that Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, was the choice of 19 percent of those surveyed. Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill linvestment banker, was the favorite of 11 percent.

The margin of error was plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.

Marcus Williams, a lawyer from Lumberton, was the choice of 6 percent. Duskin Lassiter, a truck driver from High Point, was the favorite of 4 percent, and Howard Staley, a podiatrist from Moncure, was the choice of 2 percent.

But the majority of those surveyed - 58 percent - remained undecided about which candidate they preferred to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

A new statewide poll shows the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate to be a dead heat.

Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill investment banker, is supported by 21 percent of likely voters, compared to state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro, with 18 percent, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WTVD-TV.

The survey found 44 percent of Democratic voters were undecided, with Marcus Williams, Howard Staley and Duskin Lassiter in single digits, reports Rob Christensen.

The new poll also found that Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue was leading state Treasurer Richard Moore, 44-28 percent, in the Democratic primary for governor.

In the GOP primary for governor, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory led with 26 percent, followed by state Sen. Fred Smith with 18 percent, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham with 16 percent, and former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr with 12 percent.

In the presidential race, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was leading New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, 49-41 percent.

The survey was taken by automated phone calls on March 8-10. There were 713 Democrats interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, and 403 Republicans interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.