A new Republican consulting group is setting up shop.

Chris Sinclair of Public Solutions and Alastair Macaulay of Cornerstone Strategy and Communications announced that they will merge.

The new firm, called Cornerstone Solutions, will be a full-service political consulting, strategic communications and issue management firm in North Carolina.

Sinclair said in an e-mail to Dome that they plan to fill the void left by the retirement of Tom Fetzer and Mark Stephens after the November elections.

"We're the new (Republican) kids on the block," he said.

The two consultants have a lot of experience on the hot-button issue of real estate. Both have helped the N.C. Association of Realtors successfully fend off land transfer taxes nearly two dozen times and another campaign against allowing counties to have the tax.

Alastair is the former political director for the N.C. Home Builders Association.

The firm will have an office in West Palm Beach, Fla., headed by Rick Asnani, and in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

A familiar face will be missing when the legislature reconvenes next year.

Veteran lobbyist Paul Wilms is retiring at the end of the year, Rob Christensen reports.

For the past eight years, Wilms has been chief lobbyist for the N.C. Homebuilders Association, but he has worked for the homebuilders since 1990.

In recent years, the group has been a key force in the debate over real estate transfer taxes.

The new lobbyist will be Lisa D. Martin, who has been the homebuilders' director of regulatory affairs since 2001.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Martin's job.

Walter Dalton received $1.5 million in contributions by the end of June.

The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor received $255,305 in contributions during the second quarter of the year, according to his most recent campaign finance report.

Major donors included Crandall Bowles, Greensboro executive Joseph Bryan Jr., Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Franklin Street Partners executive Robert Eubanks, Capstrat CEO Ken Eudy and developer Mack Pearsall. 

He also received contributions from political action committees such as the Bank of America PAC, the Baxter Healthcare PAC, the N.C. Home Builders Association, DominionPAC, the N.C. Restaurant Association, the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Wal-Mart's PAC and the N.C. Trucking Association.

He also spent $637,602 in the second quarter, leaving him with $177,357 in cash on hand.

Beverly Perdue received $9.9 million in donations by the end of June of 2008.

The Democratic gubernatorial nominee raised $2.3 million from donors in the second quarter of 2008, according to a report filed with the State Board of Elections.

Major donors included Belk stores president Tom Belk; Erskine Bowles' wife Crandall; her sons, Emmett and Garrett; Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand; Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers; retiree Wallace Hyde; attorney David Kirby; SAS executive John Sall; and Bill Graham's law partner, Mona Lisa Wallace.

She also raised $223,436 from political action committees, including the Association for Home & Hospice Care of N.C., Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Employee PAC, the Corning Inc. Employee PAC, the Democratic Governors Association of N.C., the Teamsters' DRIVE PAC, the International Paper PAC, the McGuire Woods PAC, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers PAC and the N.C. Home Builders Association.

In addition, she loaned her campaign $130,000 on April 25. In addition to a first quarter loan of $500,000 and outstanding debt of $275,000 to her husband from a previous election, her campaign owes $905,000.

She had cash on hand of $1.4 million at the end of the second quarter.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the cash on hand.

Bill Daughtridge received $11,250 from political action committees in 2007.

According to his mid-year and year-end campaign finance reports, the Republican candidate for state treasurer received money from nine different PACs.

The top donor was the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, which gave $4,000. The N.C. Restaurant Association gave $2,000. The Coca-Cola PAC, the N.C. Home Builders Association, Embarq and the N.C. Association of Convenience Stores each gave $1,000.

He also received money from the Engineers PAC of N.C., the N.C. Farm Bureau and the N.C. Construction Industry PAC.

Note: This list does not include money from other political campaigns.

Bill Daughtridge raised $150,870 by the end of 2007.

The Republican candidate for state treasurer raised $136,690 from larger donors, including Captive Aire president Bob Luddy, attorney Brent Barringer and petroleum marketer Rober Airey, according to a campaign finance report filed with the State Board of Elections today.

He also raised $930 from donors who gave less than $50, and $11,250 from political action committees, including the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, the N.C. Restaurant Association and the N.C. Home Builders Association.

He also received $1,000 donations from the campaigns of state Rep. Danny McComas and former Rep. John Sauls. 

At the same time, Daughtridge spent $192,288 on office supplies, consulting, fundraisers, campaign signs and ad production.

That left him with $78,934 in cash on hand at the end of the year.

* Don Vaughan, Paul Gibson, Melvin "Skip" Alston also mentioned as possible replacements for state Sen. Kay Hagan in legislature. (Capital Beat)

* N.C. Association of Realtors and N.C. Home Builders Association are spending at least $441,000 to finance 15 local groups fighting transfer taxes. (Char-O)

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has gone through a six-week crash course on veterans' issues since taking over committee spot from Sen. Larry Craig. (Politico)

* U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick and three other former Charlotte mayors urge voters not to overturn half-cent sales tax for public transit. (Char-O)

The holdouts on a transfer tax live in swing districts.

Many of the senators who are opposed to allowing counties the option of levying a tax on real estate sales to pay for schools and local services live in areas that switch between Republican and Democratic control.

Voters in their districts are seeing ads funded by Realtors that tell them to "Fight the Home Tax."

Realtors and home builders rank first and second in campaign contributions in the last election, handing out a combined $816,000 in campaign contributions to legislators.

Several of the legislators say they oppose the tax because it could hurt the local economy. (N&O)

The latest lobbying reports show that the N.C. Association of Realtors has spent another $109,000 on lobbying and advertising campaigns largely aimed at stopping lawmakers from giving voters the opportunity to adopt a land transfer tax. The reports also show that a partnership of public officials and businesses has also spent serious money on the other side.

The Partnership for North Carolina's Future spent over $400,000 on advertising, polling and consulting, according to its latest report. A couple of the groups that are a members of the partnership, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and greenspace advocate Land for Tomorrow have also spent $138,000 or more, according to lobbying reports. Land for Tomorrow lists a $200,000 payment to the partnership for its "publicity ad campaign," money that has yet to be spent on lobbying or advertising.

Read more after the jump.

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All that appears to be preventing an agreement among House and Senate Democrats on taxes for the state budget and a plan to help counties with their Medicaid bills is a .4 percent land transfer tax.

House Democrats want it as part of a deal to help counties with their Medicaid bills. But Senate Democrats balked after meeting behind closed doors for two hours this afternoon with lobbyists for the homebuilding and real estate businesses camped outside, reports Dan Kane.

Senate leaders would only say they had no deal late Thursday afternoon.

"No decision is sometimes a victory," said Paul Wilms, a lobbyist for the N.C. Home Builders Association.

Read more after the jump.

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