How often have North Carolina's members of Congress voted with President Bush?

Congressional Quarterly, a Washington-based news service, has compiled statistics based on votes taken in which the president has a clear position.

Here are the results of a recent study of all roll-call votes from Bush's inauguration until the August recess in 2008:

Republicans:

Rep. Sue Myrick: 89 percent
Sen. Richard Burr*: 88 percent
Sen. Elizabeth Dole*: 88 percent
Rep. Virginia Foxx*: 88 percent
Rep. Patrick McHenry*: 86 percent
Rep. Howard Coble: 77 percent
Rep. Robin Hayes: 72 percent
Rep. Walter Jones: 57 percent

Democrats:

Rep. Mike McIntyre: 40 percent
Rep. Bob Etheridge: 30 percent
Rep. David Price: 21 percent
Rep. Heath Shuler*: 19 percent
Rep. Brad Miller*: 18 percent
Rep. G.K. Butterfield*: 17 percent
Rep. Mel Watt: 13 percent

Members who were elected since 2001 are noted with an asterisk.

A recent post used the averages of each year's score by Congressional Quarterly, but a representative of the news service said that method is inaccurate.

How often have North Carolina's members of Congress voted with President Bush?

Congressional Quarterly, a Washington-based news service, has compiled statistics based on votes taken in which the president has a clear position.

Here are the averages since Bush took office through last year:

Republicans:

Sen. Elizabeth Dole*: 91.6 percent
Rep. Sue Myrick: 91.4 percent
Sen. Richard Burr*: 89.4 percent
Rep. Patrick McHenry*: 87.3 percent
Rep. Virginia Foxx*: 87 percent
Rep. Robin Hayes: 81.9 percent
Rep. Howard Coble: 79.6 percent
Rep. Walter Jones: 65 percent

Democrats:

Rep. Mike McIntyre: 50.7 percent
Rep. Bob Etheridge: 37.3 percent
Rep. David Price: 27.4 percent
Rep. G.K. Butterfield*: 24.8 percent
Rep. Heath Shuler*: 19 percent
Rep. Brad Miller*: 17.9 percent
Rep. Mel Watt: 16.1 percent

Members who were elected since 2001 are noted with an asterisk.

Dole has been in office since 2003. Burr's score is an average of his Senate score since 2005 (88.7 percent) and his House score from 2001-2004 (90 percent).

McHenry and Foxx have been in office since 2005, Butterfield since 2004, Shuler since 2007 and Miller since 2003.

Update: A representative of Congressional Quarterly said that averaging the yearly scores is mathematically incorrect. A complete tally of voting scores is available here.

What bipartisan efforts has U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole worked on?

At Dome's request, the Salisbury Republican's staffers sent a list of bipartisan efforts that she is most proud of from the past six years:

* Climate Change: Dole co-sponsored a "cap and trade" bill to reduce carbon emissions by Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman and Republican John Warner this session.

* Military Family Leave: Dole co-sponsored a bill by Sen. Hillary Clinton to allow some workers 12-month leaves to care for family members wounded in action.

* Lumbee Recognition: Dole worked with Gov. Mike Easley, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, among others, on legislation to recognize the Lumbee tribe.

* Tobacco Quota Buyout: Dole worked with U.S. Reps. McIntyre and Bob Etheridge on a tobacco quota buyout program included in a 2004 jobs bill.

* Catching Fugitives: Dole co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Richard Durbin to give law enforcement agencies help capturing fugitives from the U.S. Marshals.

Dole's staffers also cited her work on 211 expansion with Clinton, creating infrastructure bonds with Sen. Ron Wyden, requiring a White House conference on nutrition with Sen. John Kerry, demanding Iraq fund a greater share of its reconstruction with Sen. Ben Nelson, and amending trade adjustment laws and calling for an Oil and Gas Market Fraud Task Force with Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Previously: Dole's Democratic cosponsors 2003-08.

How closely tied are North Carolina's Congressional Democrats to their presidential nominee?

Though all but one of the state's seven Democratic representatives will cast their superdelegate vote for Barack Obama, they're at slightly different levels.

Here's where they stand, from closest to least close:

G.K. Butterfield: Switched endorsement from John Edwards before the South Carolina primary. Stumped in Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia. Participated in multiple teleconferences. Talked to reporters. Served on "Truth Squad." Attended rallies. District backed Obama by 63 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working.

David Price: Defended Obama. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. District backed Obama by 66 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working. 

Mel Watt: Previously skeptical of black candidate's chances. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. Served on "Truth Squad." District backed Obama by 78 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech.

Brad Miller: Wife sat behind Obama for acceptance speech. District backed Obama by 63 percent Stayed neutral before primary, endorsed shortly afterward.

Bob Etheridge: District backed Obama. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out. Attended Obama rally.

Mike McIntyre: District backed Clinton. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out.

Heath Shuler: Received $10,000 from Obama's PAC in 2006. District backed Clinton. Endorsed Clinton after primary. Staff says he's been too busy to think about race since then.

The state's Congressional Democrats endorsed Kay Hagan.

The seven U.S. representatives issued a joint endorsement of the Democratic nominee, who faces U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in November.

"Kay Hagan has a decade-long record of effectiveness in the North Carolina state Senate, and has earned the distinction of being one of the Senate's top 10 most effective lawmakers for three consecutive terms," said U.S. Rep. David Price in a statement. "She's a work horse, not a show horse."

Along with Price, U.S. Reps. Mel Watt, Mike McIntyre, Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller, G.K. Butterfield and Heath Shuler backed Hagan.

"I'm so honored to receive these endorsements," Kay said. "I'm looking forward to working with them in my campaign and of course, when I am up in Washington working in the U.S. Senate."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre joined the Obama cause today, pledging his support for the Illinois senator.

Barack Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night with the last primaries, but McIntyre waited a few days for his endorsement, Barb Barrett reports.

Although Hillary Clinton carried McIntyre's southeastern North Carolina district in the May 6 primary, McIntyre had told both candidates he wanted to let the national primary process play itself out before making his choice.

"I will be supporting Sen. Obama," McIntyre said in an interview this afternoon. "It has been a robust exchange of ideas, and it has been a healthy process."

Obama tried several times last weekend to reach the Democratic superdelegate for a last-minute endorsement, but the pair kept missing one another, in part because of a storm that knocked out power in McIntyre's Lumberton home.

More after the jump.

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The superdelegates in North Carolina mostly backed Barack.

Here's a breakdown of the state's 19 superdelegates in the Democratic presidential primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Clinton

Gov. Mike Easley
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler
Susan Burgess, Charlotte Councilwoman

Obama

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield
U.S. Rep. David Price
U.S. Rep. Mel Watt
U.S. Rep. Brad Miller
Jerry Meek, N.C. Democratic Party chair
Dannie Montgomery, N.C. Democratic Party vice chair
Everett Ward, former Democratic Party director
Joyce Brayboy, public policy lobbyist
Jeanette Council, Cumberland County commissioner
Muriel K. Offerman, Democratic National Committee
David Parker, Statesville attorney
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge
U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre

Carol Peterson, Buncombe County commissioner
Two delegates to be named at the state convention.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge will endorse Barack Obama.

Etheridge announced his choice this morning, three days after Obama sewed up the Democratic nomination.

"This has been an historic primary, and now that all of the voters have had their say it is time for the party to come together and support our nominee, Barack Obama," Etheridge said in a statement. "I look forward to working to elect Sen. Obama and all other Democrats in November."

Etheridge, of Lillington, is one of the state’s moderate Democrats, representing the conservative Second District that curls east and south around the Triangle, Barb Barrett reports. He had been lobbied heavily by both leading candidates for their support and met in person with both Obama and Hillary Clinton in recent weeks.

He had been coy about when he would endorse, saying repeatedly when asked that he didn’t know when he would make his decision.

Clinton is expected to suspend her campaign Saturday in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, of Lumberton, a conservative Democrat, has not yet announced his decision.

The decision leaves Obama with 12 North Carolina superdelegates to Clinton's three.

The American Conservative Union ranked two North Carolina representatives tops.

U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry and Virginia Foxx both scored 100 percent on the conservative group's annual Congressional ratings — two out of only 62 representatives to land among its "best and brightest" for the 2007 session.

At the same time, four Congressional Democrats — Reps. David Price, Brad Miller, Mel Watt and G.K. Butterfield — scored 0 percent, landing among the group's "worst of the worst."

The ratings were based on votes on a minimum wage hike, stem-cell research, the Iraq war, Amtrak funding, earmark reform, border security, support of Planned Parenthood and energy policy, among other things.

The rest of the delegation was in between. Among Republicans, Rep. Sue Myrick scored a 96, Rep. Howard Coble an 83, Rep. Robin Hayes a 79, and Rep. Walter Jones a 71. Among Democrats, Reps. Mike McIntyre and Heath Shuler, both Blue Dog Democrats, scored 44 and Rep. Bob Etheridge an 8.

Sens. Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole both scored a 92.

The state’s Democratic congressional delegation hosted a fundraiser this morning in Washington for Daniel Johnson, a candidate for the 10th Congressional District seat.

Johnson is challenging Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville in November.

The fundraiser was held at Tortilla Coast, a popular restaurant about a block from the House row of office buildings on Capitol Hill. Most tickets ranged from $250 to $1,000 a plate, though House staffers could get in for $100, reports Barb Barrett.

The event was hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and its chairman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, along with U.S. Reps. David Price, Bob Etheridge, Mel Watt, Heath Shuler, Brad Miller and G.K. Butterfield.

Of Tar Heel representatives, only U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre’s name was omitted. Spokesman Dean Mitchell said McIntyre was a host, but that the invitation was sent before the office’s official approval. McIntyre was not able to attend.

State Republicans jumped on the fundraiser as proof that Johnson is a Washington-backed politician. GOP Chairwoman Linda Daves today wrote Johnson a letter:

Only a few days after issuing a patently false press release claiming that your pockets have not been stuffed with cash from Washington liberals and attacking Congressman McHenry for pointing that out, I am shocked and appalled to discover that you are in Washington today for a fundraiser hosted by several liberal, Washington politicians.

You owe Congressman McHenry and the people of Western North Carolina an apology.