Sen. Kay Hagan ranks 35th on The Hill's Rich List, a compilation of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers in Washington.
The feature cited Hagan's stock holdings in drug makers Pfizer and Genentech as well as Richmond, Va., based tobacco maker Altria and its subsidiary Philip Morris. Most of her estimated $6.7 million worth is related to her interest in a Florida commercial real estate business owned by her father.
The Hill's rankings, which are admittedly imprecise, list Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the richest lawmaker with a worth of $167.8 million, much of which comes from his wife's interest in ketchup.
Hagan is the only member of the state's Congressional delegation to make the Hill's list.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated where Altria has its headquarters.
A former UNC-TV executive is interested in state Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.
Jay Holloway, who worked for the public television channel for nearly 14 years, announced recently that he is seeking the nomination of the Wake County Democratic Party for the seat left empty by Malone's recent death.
Holloway said he would announce a five-point plan to improve education and bring green jobs to the Triangle area.
"We must be innovative in offering real-life solutions to the everyday kitchen table discussions of the residents of District 14," he said in a statement.
Wake County school board member Rosa Gill, Pfizer lobbyist Marlowe W. Foster, and the son of former state Rep. Bernard Allen are also seeking the nomination.
The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Malone's replacement.
Update: Former DMV director Alexander Killens has also announced he's running for the open seat.
Beverly Perdue has received $98,500 from health care-related PACs.
Political action committees representing drug companies, health care providers, insurance companies and industry associations were the single largest group of PAC donors to the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, according to campaign finance reports.
They made up about a fourth of the $376,293 she raised from PACs since her re-election in 2004. Other politicians' campaign committees were a close second, contributing $91,933, with about a third of that coming from other Democratic senators.
The biggest donors were the N.C. Hospital Association and the NP PAC, which represents nurse practitioners. Both gave $8,000. PACs for the Asheville Anesthesia Associates and the Association for Home and Hospice Care of N.C. gave $5,000 apiece.
Drug companies whose PACs donated included GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Roche, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Wyeth, Pfizer and Abbott Labs. Pharmacy chains such as Kerr Drug, pharmacist managers Medco Health and Caremark and the PILL PAC, which represents pharmacists, also gave.
Perdue also received money from trade groups: The N.C. Medical Society, the N.C. Health Care Facilities Association, the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the N.C. Assisted Living Association, the N.C. Association of Long Term Care Facilities and the N.C. Orthopaedic PAC.
Perdue previously worked at a hospital and has made health care one of the signature issues in her campaign.