U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry was running late at the airport.

And just like any Congressman on the go, McHenry decided to create his own parking space at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to save time, the Gaston Gazette reports, including a full-size image of the offending Ford.

It probably wasn't the best thing for him that his SUV was sporting not only his Congressional license plate, but also a McHenry for Congress sticker, which would save any passerby with a camera phone the effort of looking up which member of Congress represents the 10th district.

On Monday, spokesman Brock McCleary e-mailed a Gazette reporter to say the 10^th District Republican was running late and couldn’t find a parking place ("He made a mistake in not leaving the vehicle in a proper parking spot … It has been moved.").

Granted, we’re not exactly dealing with Watergate here. The fact is, though, a car without government plates might not last an hour parked illegally at an airport. This thought probably occurred to at least some of the people who toted their luggage past a four-wheeled double standard.

Previously: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's VW "Thing" and its questionable parking spaces develops a paparazzi following.

State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said Tuesday's election results are good news for Republicans.

"I think the pendulum is turning back as it always does," Fetzer said in an interview with reporters and editors of The News & Observer. "I think there is a wave cresting right now that bodes well for Republicans."

Fetzer said Tuesday's elections, in which Republicans captured the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, reminded him of the run up to the 1994 elections which turned into a national GOP landslide led by Newt Gingrich, reports Rob Christensen.

Fetzer said the N.C. Republican Party would focus on the re-election of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and winning control of at least one chamber in the state legislature during the 2010 mid-term election. He said the key issues will be ending the "culture of corruption" in Raleigh and better management of taxpayer's money.

U.S. Sens. Kay Hagan and Richard Burr said they want to see North Carolinians on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

President Barack Obama nominated Judges James Wynn and Albert Diaz to the court, which serves North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. North Carolina has had only six judges serve on the 15-judge panel since it was established in 1801, according to Hagan's office.

Judge Allyson Duncan is the only North Carolinian on the bench. The late Sen. Jesse Helms blocked Wynn's 1999 nomination to the court.

"Today’s announcement is a victory for North Carolina," Hagan said in a statement. "For too long partisan bickering and obstructionism on both sides of the aisle have unnecessarily derailed the nominations of qualified North Carolinians."

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, whose opposition or support could prove pivotal to the confirmation of the nominees, said this morning he "looks forward to working with" Diaz and Wynn during the confirmation process.

"Since coming to the Senate, I have fought for greater representation for North Carolina on the United States Court of Appeals, and I plan to continue that fight for the people of North Carolina," he said.

The senators' complete statements after the jump.

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Sen. Richard Burr is the target of a new Internet ad campaign that seeks to tie his political contributions from the defense industry and the Chamber of Commerce to his vote on a bill involving how overseas American contractors handle allegations of rape.

"Did Sen. Burr Put Campaign Cash Above Victims of Gang Rape?" says the online ad that is scheduled to begin running today by Change Congress, a Washington-based group that pushes campaign finance reform.

The group is currently running ads on other issues targeting Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, all Democrats.

"We've had a series of campaigns that have tried to point out cases where members have voted consistent with contributors but inconsistent with their constitutuents," Larry Sessig, the co-founder of Change Congress said in an interview.

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U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, is ahead of Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, one of his potential Democratic opponents, by ten points, according to a poll by the conservative Civitas Institute.

Among those surveyed, 43.7 percent backed Burr, while 33 percent picked Marshall.

The poll, released Friday, surveyed 600 voters by live interviews on October 20 and 21 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

Marshall and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis have declared their candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Burr next year. Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham is considering a run.

A new poll has found that 42 percent of North Carolinians say someone else should have U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's seat.

The Elon University Poll found that 19 percent of state residents believe Burr deserves another term in office, according to the survey of 703 state residents that was conducted Oct. 26-29.

The poll also found 29 percent of respondents said they "don't know" if Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, deserves re-election.

Burr’s approval rating stands at 37 percent, the poll found, while 22 percent of respondents disapprove of the way he is handling his job. Forty-one percent don’t know how they feel on his job performance.

Two Democrats have formally entered the race. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and lawyer Kenneth Lewis have filed candidate paperwork.

The poll also asked respondents for their opinions on other political figures.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan: 35 percent approve, 35 percent disapprove, 29 percent don’t know.

Gov. Beverly Perdue: 36 percent approve, 47 percent disapprove, 18 percent don’t know.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Update: The National Republican Senatorial Committee weighed in on the poll. Expect to see this one a lot from Colin Reed, a spokesman for the committee:

In the words of Erskine Bowles just last week, 'nobody works harder or smarter for North Carolina than Richard Burr does.' It speaks to Senator Burr’s strength at home that as national Democrats struggle to recruit a strong challenger, his former opponent continues to offer nothing but praise for his hard work on behalf of North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

And the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued it's own statement from spokesman Eric Schultz.

Whether it was its when he suggested a run on the banks, his hypocrisy over stimulus funding, or his inexplicable vote against justice for victims of sexual assault, it should come as no surprise that Richard Burr is the most vulnerable Republican in the United States Senate. 

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina is urging the state's two U.S. senators to support strong climate change legislation.

Judie Burke, former president of the state league, was part of a delegation in Washington that met with the staffs for Sens. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, and Richard Burr, a Republican. Women around the world are disproportionately affected by global warming, Burke said in a written release.

"The message brought to the Senators today is that their support of strong climate change legislation is important to both North Carolina and our country," Burke said, according to a release from the league. "Without immediate action, the impacts on our state will be devastating. Global warming will cause, and has already caused, more intense heat waves, more frequent heavy rainstorms and changing conditions that will threaten many native species.”

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Senate spouse Brooke Burr has sent out invitations for her husband's annual birthday bash.

The event this year is on his actual birthday, Nov. 30, at the Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, Barb Barrett reports.

Her husband, Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, faces re-election next year.
The Birthday Bash event began 10 years ago, Brooke Burr wrote in her e-mail to friends.

"In the years since, it has become a major fundraiser for the campaign and a special way for women of North Carolina to show their support for Richard," she wrote.

By tradition, women serve as hosts ($500, with three guests) or sponsors ($250, with one guest). They can invite even more guests for $75 a person. Money goes toward Burr's re-election campaign.

Special guests include former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

"Thanks for your past support and I hope I can count on you to be with us to celebrate Richard's birthday on November 30th," Brooke Burr wrote. "I am sure you know the importance of this election and this event."

Burr will be turning 54.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr returned yesterday from a weekend trip to Afghanistan to meet with foreign leaders, military officials and soldiers.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Select Intelligence committees, Barb Barrett reports. He also is the top GOP member on Veterans Affairs.

He met separately with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah, who face a run-off election after widespread problems with the national election that took place this summer. He told both how important a clean run-off is to earn the support of Americans who want to see a legitimate presidency.

"As I told both President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah, the most important outcome of this election is not who wins, but that they both join together with the Afghan people to rid the country of the Taliban’s influence and provide security for the people so that ultimately coalition forces will no longer be needed for protection," Burr said in a letter he wrote to constituents about the trip.

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U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has $3,461,445 in his campaign account.

Burr has received more than $3 million in contributions since 2007, according to federal campaign finance records. Of that amount, $1.4 million came from individual contributions and $1.2 million came from political action or other committees.

Contributors include the Associated Builders and Contractors ($5,000), a Bank of America PAC ($5,000), a Federation of American Hospitals PAC ($5,000), Thomas Mann of Raleigh, chairman of GE Insurance ($2,000), Duke Energy President James Rogers of Charlotte ($2,400) and Jerry Smith, CEO of Le Bleu water company ($2,400).

Previously: Democrat Kenneth Lewis who is running against Burr has $184,000.