Senate Democrats elected Sen. Martin Nesbitt, a racing crew chief and self-described mountain populist from Asheville, as their new majority leader today.

Nesbitt quickly tried to quell any fears – or hopes, depending on the perspective – that he would steer the Senate down a more liberal course.

"I’m changing roles now," Nesbitt said after his unanimous election. "I’ve been a warrior…I’ll still have my opinions, and I’ll express them…but at the end of the day I’ll be about trying to help this caucus get where it wants to go."

Nesbitt’s tenure in the legislature started in 1979 and was interrupted once, when he lost his House seat in 1994 during the Republican tide that year. The GOP has hopes of riding voter discontent to a similar sweep next year, and Nesbitt said the lessons learned from 15 years ago will be invaluable as he helps Democrats prepare.

"There are very few things that I’m the most qualified for," he said, "but getting us through this election is one of them."

Nesbitt, a lawyer, also runs the racing operations for his son, Mart, who races in the USAR Pro Cup series.

Democratic senators are scheduled to meet at 11:30 this morning to elect a new majority leader, a proceeding which is expected to be a coronation of Sen. Martin Nesbitt, of Asheville.

Nesbitt goes into the meeting with the endorsement of Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight plus Nesbitt's own allies. He would replace Sen. Tony Rand, of Fayetteville, who is resigning from the Senate to chair the state parole board. The majority leader is the traffic cop who helps decide what legislation gets to the Senate floor and leads the agenda for floor sessions.

The lingering question is who Basnight will tap as chairman of the Rules Committee, a duty that Rand also held, often serving as gatekeeper for whether a bill will advance or whether an amendment survives.

GRADE STIMULUS: A Goldsboro middle school was lambasted this week for its plan to award extra test points — enough to raise a letter grade — in exchange for cash contributions for the school. The lesson for students: Hard work, perseverance and positive attitude will be rewarded. And if that doesn't work, a nice crisp $20 couldn't hurt.

CHOPPED LIVER; The race for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Burr got lots of attention this week. Lexington lawyer Cal Cunningham is out. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is going for a new fence-sitting record. Two others are thinking about it. All the buzz about candidates who aren't running can't be flattering to the only two people who are: lawyer Kenneth Lewis and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

SHE'S BACK: Gov. Bev Perdue got a big bump in her job approval, apparently because of her refusal to release violent inmates despite a court ruling. Perdue has been hitting the public events pretty hard and making big announcements. A few more ribbon cuttings and another stand at a jail-house door and Perdue might just be liked again.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Martin Nesbitt appears to have a lock on the job of Senate majority leader...The state's pension fund is beginning to recover from a financial slump...Barack Obama's campaign was the source of the tip that John Edwards got $400 haircuts.

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight's endorsement of Sen. Martin Nesbitt, of Asheville, for majority leader has left Sen. Dan Clodfelter, of Charlotte (right), with few directions to go to pursue the job.

Basnight, of Manteo, wrote to his Democratic colleagues (see link below) on Friday encouraging them to support Nesbitt to replace outgoing Majority Leader Tony Rand, of Fayetteville.

"For our state to endure these difficult economic times, we need to focus all of our energies and efforts on creating jobs, improving education and health care, and giving everyone in North Carolina a chance at success," Basnight wrote. "Martin Nesbitt has fought for these important priorities throughout his decades of public service."

Several Democratic senators last week said Clodfelter was running for the majority leader's job, but the same day Basnight's letter appeared, Clodfelter refused to say whether he was a candidate.

The difficulty for him is that Nesbitt carries considerable loyalty among the more liberal wing of the Democratic caucus, while the more conservative and business-oriented side of the party remains loyal to Basnight. Those obstacles, along with Clodfelter's history of irritating colleagues with his brusque manner, leave a limited number of senators from whom Clodfelter might gain support.

Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat, won hefty support on Friday when Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight dispatched a letter endorsing Nesbitt for the post of Senate majority leader.

Basnight sent the letter to fellow Senate Democrats, who will pick a replacement for Sen. Tony Rand, of Fayetteville, who is resigning from the legislature and will be leaving by the end of the year, the Asheville Citizen Times reports.

Several Democratic senators last week said Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat, was also seeking the post, but Clodfelter refused to say whether he was a candidate.

"I'm not at that point," he told the newspaper, though he added, "I’m not telling you I’m not a candidate."

Clodfelter said the talk about who gets the majority leader's post is happening too fast.

The state's teacher lobby seems to be leaning one way on who it supports to replace Senate majority leader Tony Rand.

But the lobby isn't taking any chances on backing the wrong candidate, either.

In an e-mail to members, the N.C. Association of Educators says that Sen. Martin Nesbitt has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Rand in the second-in-command position within the chamber. The headline on its Nesbitt brief reads, "K-12 Champion Vies for Senate Majority Leader."

Sen. Nesbitt's success comes as no surprise to Buncombe County Association of Educators President Anna Austin, who lunches with the mountain senator regularly. "Sen. Nesbitt checks in with me every week during session and its not surprising to watch issues we bounce around at a lunch table in Ashevillle make it into state law," she said.   

The next item is about Sen. Dan Clodfelter and is written under the decidedly more staid headline: "Charlotte Democrat Eyes Leadership Post." 

The write-up is positive on Clodfelter.

We have immense respect for Sen. Clodfelter, especially his support for public education and a modernized tax structure," said NCAE Vice President Rodney Ellis.  "As educators, we also admire Sen. Clodfelter's  incredible intellect.  He is a strong leader and whatever happens within the caucus, we hope that Sen. Clodfelter continues to lead on tax reform."    

The race to succeed Sen. Tony Rand as Senate majority leader is on, and Senators Martin Nesbitt, of Asheville, and Dan Clodfelter, of Charlotte, are the early entries.

The two have been making calls to their fellow Democrats in the Senate. Both hail from the more liberal side of the caucus, compared to the more conservative, business-friendly team of Rand, from Fayeteville, and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, of Manteo.

Nesbitt, (above) an Asheville lawyer, chairs the Judiciary 1 committee and is a veteran of intracaucus jockeying from his 11 terms in the House. He has focused many of his efforts on health care and mental health reform. The conservative Civitas Institute ranked him as the most liberal senator.

Clodfelter, (below) a Charlotte lawyer and former city council member, is a co-chair of the tax-writing finance committee and has long been viewed as a future candidate for president pro tem when Basnight retires.

Neither senator returned Dome's calls. Seems they might have some votes to line up.

Among all the conservative politicians at the N.C. General Assembly, it appears none are conservative enough to suit Civitas Action.

The non-profit voter education group, with has ties to the conservative John William Pope Civitas Institute, released its Conservative Effectiveness Rankings for the 2009 legislative session on Monday.

Rep. Dale Folwell, a Forsyth County Republican, snagged the title of the most conservative member of the N.C. House, with a 89.8 score on the 100-point scale developed by Civitas Action. At the other end of the spectrum, Speaker Joe Hackney, a Democrat from Orange County, was awarded a score of 0.

In the state Senate, Davie County Republican Sen. Andrew Brock was rated as the body's most conservative member, with a score of 79. Three Democrats, Sens. Ellie Kinnaird of Orange, Katie Dorsett of Guilford and Martin Nesbitt of Buncombe were all scored at the bottom, tying at 2.1 on the group's scale.

Civitas Action's scale is based on the elected officials' votes on bills and amendments the group identified as demonstrative of commitment to conservative ideals as "derived from free-market economic policies, limited government, personal responsibility and civic engagement," according to the group's web site.

By that measure, the most conservative member of the state House got the equivalent of a B+, whole the most conservative senator got a C+.

UPDATE: Bill Holmes, spokesman for Speaker Hackney, points out that the Democratic leader didn't vote on 49 of the 50 bills Civitas Action graded. The speaker typically only votes to break a tie or at other points where his support is determinative, Holmes said. Sen. Vernon Malone, who died in April, also got a 0 score from the group due to his being "absent" when many of the bills came up.  

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It's not only possible to become a state legislator without getting elected, but 31 of the 170 members of the legislature have done it.

Those lawmakers first took office after being selected by a small group of their party's leaders and then being appointed by the governor.

Since the current legislative term began in January, six lawmakers have taken office after their predecessor resigned or, in one case, died. A seventh new legislator will be selected soon to replace Sen. David Weinstein, D-Lumberton, who resigned in September. When a lawmaker leaves office early, his or her party leaders select a replacement who is appointed by the governor.

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