From the Letting Bygones Be Bygones Department:

Canton Mayor Pat Smathers gave Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Walter Dalton $250 on June 20, according to campaign finance reports.

That would be about a month and a half after Dalton beat Smathers for the nomination. 

Speculation is rampant about the potential for a primary runoff.

On the Republican side, gubernatorial candidates Fred Smith and Pat McCrory are running neck and neck, but a stronger than expected showing from the back of the pack by either Bob Orr or Bill Graham could deny them an outright win.

On the Democratic side, a four-way lieutenant governor's race between Dan Besse, Walter Dalton, Hampton Dellinger and Pat Smathers could be similarly close.

To win outright, a candidate must get more than 40 percent of the vote. If more than one candidate gets over that benchmark, the top vote-getter wins outright.

But if no one gets over 40, the second-place finisher can request a recount. To do so, the candidate must make a request in writing within nine days — including weekends — of Election Day, or noon on Thursday, May 15.

If a runoff election is held, it would be on June 24.

Hampton Dellinger says the lieutenant governor can help bring National Guard troops home.

In a response to an attack by rival Pat Smathers over a recent ad, the candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor said that as the state's No. 2 official he could "use the power of the office" to speak up.

"Politics is known as the art of the possible, and strong statewide leadership most definitely can help bring our National Guard back home where it belongs," he wrote. 

Dellinger noted that legislators in at least nine states are considering legislation or referenda to bring Guardsmen home. He says he would work with the legislature to do the same.

"Personally, I think that being North Carolina’s #2 elected official gives the Lt. Governor not just the right but the responsibility to speak out for the North Carolinians who are currently fighting overseas in a needless war," he wrote.

Pat Smathers calls Hampton Dellinger's pledge to bring National Guard troops home "outrageous."

The candidate for lieutenant governor took aim at a recent ad by Dellinger, a rival for the Democratic nomination.

"Who's the only Democrat for lieutenant governor ... fighting to ... bring our National Guard home from Iraq?" a narrator asks in the ad.

In a comment on the Dome blog, Smathers says the ad is "pure pandering" and "nothing short of outrageous."

"As a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, I know the lieutenant governor has no power to deliver on that promise," he writes. "Even the governor can't bring our troops home. This sort of misleading rhetoric makes a mockery of our democratic system."

How much have candidates for lieutenant governor loaned their campaigns?

Here's a quick guide to the amount of money each of the major candidates or their spouses have loaned their campaigns, according to campaign finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections.

Figures are for the total loans still outstanding.

Democrats

Hampton Dellinger: $322,500 

Dan Besse: $50,000

Pat Smathers: $25,917

Walter Dalton: $0

Republicans

Robert Pittenger: $500,000

Greg Dority: $0

Timothy Cook: $0

How are the candidates for lieutenant governor doing?

Here's a quick guide to the amount raised by each of the major candidates for governor, according to campaign finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections last week.

Figures are for total amount raised so far this election cycle.

Democrats

Walter Dalton: $1.3 million

Hampton Dellinger: $685,412 

Dan Besse: $92,285*

Pat Smathers: $87,807**

Republicans

Robert Pittenger: $1.5 million

Greg Dority: $9,183

Timothy Cook: Less than $3,000

* Includes $4,000 donation from Besse.

** Includes $6,513 of in-kind contributions from Smathers.

Previously: How they did by the end of 2007.

Pat Smathers received $87,807 in contributions by mid-April of 2008.

The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor received $24,771 during the first quarter of the year, according to his most recent campaign finance report. 

He also loaned his campaign $1,125 during the first quarter. Previously, he loaned his campaign $24,792.

He spent $30,618 during the first quarter of the year.

That left him with cash on hand $456 at the end of the first quarter. 

Is there a BlueNC primary?

The progressive group blog has become a major stopping point for Democratic candidates in North Carolina's primary this year.

So far, Senate candidate Jim Neal; lieutenant governor candidates Pat Smathers and Dan Besse; Congressional candidates Larry Kissell, Marshall Adame, Jay Ovittore, Roy Carter, John Autry; and state House candidate Ed Ridpath, along with Elizabeth Edwards have live-blogged on the site.

State auditor candidate Beth Wood, labor commissioner Robin Anderson and Congressional candidate Ross Overby are also slated, while gubernatorial candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue have scheduled an online debate on the site.

Even Senate candidate Kay Hagan, who has taken some abuse on the site, has said she will live-blog.

"I think it's absolutely as important to engage as many voters as you can," said Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan. "Certainly there's a lot of voters who read that blog."

The live-blogs are a new, and much looser format for candidates. Anonymous users can post questions, but the candidates are also free to ignore them. They can answer as much or as little as they want, ask staff or Google for help and link to outside sources.

Kay Hagan wants to send U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole "home."

Speaking at a Groundhog Day event in Dunn, the state senator and candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate said that it's time for change in Washington, the Dunn Daily Record reports.

"We need to give Sen. Elizabeth Dole a pair of ruby red slippers so she can click her heels together three times and go back to Kansas with her husband where she came from," Ms. Hagan said. "We need a senator from North Carolina again."

Dole grew up in Salisbury. Her husband, Bob, was a U.S. senator from Kansas for 27 years.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, lieutenant governor candidate Pat Smathers and state Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson were also at the event. 

How are the candidates for lieutenant governor doing?

Here's a quick guide to the amount raised by each of the major candidates for governor, according to campaign finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections last week.

Figures are for total amount raised so far this election cycle.

Democrats

Walter Dalton: $855,382

Hampton Dellinger: $576,413

Dan Besse: $81,903*

Pat Smathers: $63,035**

Republicans:

Robert Pittenger:

Greg Dority: $0

* Includes $4,000 donation from Besse.

** Includes $6,513 of in-kind contributions from Smathers.