U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's political action committee has received $848,615 in the last three years.

The Leadership Circle PAC is separate from Dole's campaign committee, so it can receive bigger contributions from donors. As a recent report and database from NPR's Marketplace shows, leadership PACs like it are booming.

Many of Dole's contributors are familiar faces.

Between December of 2004 and December of 2007, her leadership PAC received $20,000 from lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger and his wife, Suzanne; $16,750 from former gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and his wife, Shari; and $10,000 from SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight.

Other donations came from Raleigh lawyer Kieran Shanahan, CaptiveAire owner Bob Luddy, her husband Bob, Luther Hodges Jr., billionaire resort builder Kirk Kerkorian, Raleigh developer John Kane, and former Dole running mate Jack Kemp.

The Leadership Circle PAC also received money from other PACs, including the Progress Energy PAC, Wachovia Employees Good Government Fund, the N.C. Farm Bureau, and PACs for R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco Co., Duke Energy and Federal Express.

The N.C. Military Foundation runs on a tight budget.

The nonprofit started by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2006 to promote defense spending in North Carolina spent $140,000 less than it received its first year in operation, according to federal tax forms.

Five North Carolina companies — Wachovia, Progress Energy, Duke Energy and Charlotte defense contractors General Dynamics and Parsons Corp. Commercial Technology Group — each pledged $100,000 to fund the group its first year, and it earned another $3,274 in interest on that money.

But during that time it spent only $363,914, including $212,000 for consultants, $72,718 for the salary of executive director Will Austin, $7,055 on travel, $6,111 on conferences, $3,283 for marketing and $1,131 for a Toshiba laptop.

Austin, the organization's sole full-time employee, works out of a small office on Hargett Street in Raleigh. He has a part-time administrative assistant.

He told Dome the board of directors recently authorized him to hire a deputy director, but the nonprofit will continue to use consultants on its various projects.

"We're lean on staff and infrastructure," he said. "We spend our money on consultants."

What happened to Don Beason's clients?

When the once-top lobbyist resigned his practice last year over a shady loan to House Speaker Jim Black, his lucrative list of clients was up for grabs.

By Dome's count, seven of the 16 clients did nothing. BB&T, Cingular Wireless, Albemarle Mental Health Center, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Sigma Corp., the Association of Settlement Companies, and the Carolina Ballet have no registered lobbyists during the current session.

That may be because they don't face any pending bills in a short session devoted to the budget. 

Three clients still employ Beason's son, Mark, along with other lobbyists: The Association of Health Information Outsourcing Services, AT&T North Carolina and S&M Brands.

Two clients, the city of Hickory and Catawba County, went with a new team of Jack Cozort, Kevin Leonard and noted lobbyist Alexander "Sandy" Sands.

Among the other top clients, Progress Energy went with noted lobbyist Zeb Alley, John Bode and Kathy Hawkins; while IBM went with former lieutenant governor Dennis Wicker and a team of eight lobbyists. Colonial Life Insurance hired Glenn Jernigan and the N.C. Railroad Co. hired Michelle Frazier and John McMillan.

David Young received $675,116 in contributions by mid-April of this year.

The candidate for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer received $226,078 in the first quarter of the year, according to campaign finance reports.

Major donors included executive Clarence Cato Goodyear, Bobcats owner Robert Johnson, BB&T COO Kelly Stuart King and Soleil Group partner Sanjay Mundra.

He received $12,050 from political action committees, including the Progress Energy PAC, the Duke Energy PAC and the Manufactured Housing PAC.

He spent $428,261 on office expenses, research, TV advertising and consulting.

That left him with cash on hand of $217,877. 

Gov. Mike Easley called today for energy independence.

At a speech at the Emerging Issues Forum, he said that OPEC and other oil-producing countries have the United States "by the tail."

"I'm tired of being wagged, and I think it's time we did something about it," he said.

He said tax credits for alternative energy and increased efficiency already in place are helping. But he also painted a picture of a future with plug-in hybrid cars powered by home electricity and grids across the state run by Duke Power and Progress Energy.

"It sounds like the Jetsons to you doesn't it?" he said. "Well, Israel is going to do this by 2011."

He said that battery-powered automobiles, such as one he recently test drove, would create American jobs and reduce spending sent to foreign countries that are sometimes hostile.

Easley then announced that the state would start an advanced transportation energy center at N.C. State University in partnership with Progress and Duke to build lighter, cheaper and more efficient batteries. He said General Motors may also join in the center.

He said that the power companies are also working to start the electric grid to power the cars.

"By the time the battery is ready, the grid will be in place," he said. 

Beverly Perdue called for no more coal plants in North Carolina.

As part of an energy plan released Monday, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said that the recently approved Cliffside coal plant near Charlotte should be the "end of an era," the Charlotte Observer reports.

No new coal plants are currently planned, however. Progress Energy imposed a two-year moratorium on coal plants last May.

And on Monday, Duke Energy's CEO says he won't build any more coal-fired power plants here.

At the Emerging Issues Forum, Jim Rogers said any future plants would have to offer technology that stores carbon dioxide emissions underground—something not available in North Carolina because of its geology, the Observer .

"That plant is just a step, a transition," Rogers told the audience. "We need it now to make that transformation to a low-carbon world."

Instead, Rogers said the company will likely build coal plants in the Midwest and nuclear plants in the South and transmit the electricity back here.

Beverly Perdue has received $171,737 from political action committees since 2005.

According to campaign finance reports filed since her 2004 re-election as lieutenant governor, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate has received money from 75 PACs. 

She received $4,000 each from Anesthesiologists of the Triad, Bank of America, BB&T, the CCHC medical PAC, Coca-Cola, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, General Electric, GlaxoSmithKline, HNTB, McGuire Woods, the Nationwide Carolina Political Participation Fund, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the N.C. Automobile Dealers, the N.C. Hospital Association, the N.C. Realtors PAC, the NP health PAC, Piedmont Natural Gas, Progress Energy, the Singh real estate PAC, Wachovia, Western Radiologists and Surgeons, and the Women's Campaign Forum.

She also received money from Time Warner Cable, Eli Lilly, PSNC energy, Pepsi, the N.C. Trucking Association, Embarq, the N.C. Association of Convenience Stores, the N.C. Association of Pharmacists, Caremark drug management and the N.C. Farm Bureau.

Fred Smith received $14,500 from political action committees by the end of 2007.

According to his mid-year and year-end campaign finance reports, the Republican gubernatorial candidate received donations from a dozen PACs.

The top contributor was Progress Energy, which gave $4,000. Wachovia gave $2,000.

Smith also received $1,000 each from Carolina Conservatives, a PAC affiliated with state Sen. Eddie Goodall; the N.C. Association of Convenience Stores; the N.C. Home Builders Association; J.M. Family Enterprises; the Manufactured Housing PAC; the N.C. Farm Bureau and Wal-Mart.

He also received $500 donations from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, PSNC Energy and the Island Preservation PAC, a Wilmington-based group focused on coastal issues.

Walter Dalton received $88,750 from political action committees in 2007.

According to his mid-year and end-of-year campaign finance reports, the candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor received money from 53 different PACs.

The top donors, who gave $4,000 each: Bank of America, Wachovia Bank, Progress Energy, R.J. Reynolds, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Duke Energy.

Blue Cross Blue Shield gave $3,500 and the Dominion energy company gave $3,000.

Dalton also received $2,000 donations from the N.C. Farm Bureau Federation, the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Other notable PAC donations came from Kerr Drug, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association and Time-Warner Cable.

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