Dome's Rob Christensen and WUNC's Laura Leslie have been nominated as the best political reporters in the state on The Fix.

Chris Cillizza asked readers of his Washington Post blog, The Fix, to nominate the top political reporters by state. And Christensen and Leslie made the cut.

Dome readers, of course, know Christensen as the veteran political reporter, columnist and historian, who literally wrote the book on North Carolina politics in the 20th century. Dome knows him as the human encyclopedia who often saves us from having to look it up.

Our distinguished colleague, Leslie is the barkeep over at Isaac Hunter's Tavern. Congratulations to both.

Presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator John Edwards is facing the election of his life, or at least of the weekend.

Edwards has the dubious distinction of being nominated for The Fix's "Worst Political Sex Scandal" weekend poll. Edwards and his former mistress Rielle Hunter are are listed as one of four scandalous couples.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has nominated Edwards, although is fellow nominees may have the inside track since their ballot entries are written with a little more zing (e.g. John Ensign, his best friend's wife and $96,000 from his parents).

Polls are still open, so Dome deems it unfair to the integrity of the election to give a running tally of votes. Let's just say, there's still a chance Edwards can win this race.

Hat tip: RTB 

The Fix sees North Carolina's race becoming competitive.

Despite the trouble state Democrats are having finding a candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza included the race for the first time in his Senate rundown this week:

10. North Carolina (R-controlled): State Attorney General Roy Cooper's decision not to run in 2010 makes Sen. Richard Burr's (R) path to a second term next fall easier. But, polling in the state seems to suggest that voters are far from sold on Burr and national Democrats seem to be committed to finding a serious candidate. Their two best remaining options are Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre -- both of whom have conservative voting records in the House that would make it difficult for Burr to cast them as liberals. (Previous ranking: N/A) 

Cillizza's options reflect the Washington view that a "name-brand" Democrat is needed for the campaign, although two lesser-known North Carolinians — Kenneth Lewis and Cal Cunningham — have indicated they may run.

Reaction to Attorney General Roy Cooper's decision not to run against Sen. Richard Burr:

Swing State Project: "This is a major bummer, no doubt. Most polls had Cooper running neck and neck with Burr, holding him well under 50% in all cases -- the best numbers any Democrat have yielded in a hypothetical head-to-head."

Politico: "Cooper is the second high-profile Democrat -- after Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) -- to decide not to run against Burr, and puts Democrats back to the drawing board to find a credible candidate against Burr."

The Hill: "Burr could still be vulnerable to the right kind of challenger. Democrats fell back on state Sen. Kay Hagan (D) in the 2008 race against Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and still unseated the incumbent with relative ease."

The Fix: "A big recruiting setback for Senate Dems in NC."

N.C. GOP spokesman Brent Woodcox: "Wrote a press release, issues memo, sent out a news update, got Roy Cooper to not run for Senate. That's what I do before lunch."

N.C. Democratic Party staffer Jerimee Richir: "Roy Cooper out of NC Senate race. Let the brawl ensue."

Draft Coop: "What do we do now?????"

Is Roy Cooper ready to announce a Senate bid?

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza recently speculated on The Fix that the state attorney general may be ready to throw his hat into the ring against Sen. Richard Burr:

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) will make a decision about whether to run for the Senate by the end of the month, according to sources familiar with his decision, even as a new poll shows him leading Sen. Richard Burr (R). 

You all know how Dome feels about unnamed sources, especially in D.C. So we turned to our own unnamed source, whom we'll describe only as small, rotund and bald.

Will Cooper announce by the end of the month? "Outlook not so good."

Stay tuned. 

* U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, former N.C. GOP chairman Bill Cobey have endorsed Tom Fetzer for state chairman.

* Readers of The Washington Post's Fix blog name Under the Dome, BlueNC as the best political blogs in North Carolina.

* New data from South Now: 44 percent of North Carolinians are moderate, 37 percent conservative and 17 percent liberal.

* Due to budget cutbacks, Charlotte Observer reporter Lisa Zagaroli no longer works for the McClatchy D.C. bureau. Dome wishes her well. 

Leroy Towns thinks the Washington Post got it wrong.

The UNC-Chapel Hill professor says a recent post by blogger Chris Cillizza that called Sen.-elect Kay Hagan's the best Senate campaign in the country was "flat wrong."

Democrat Hagan ran a terrible campaign in her defeat of Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. She won because the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ran a brilliant campaign, placing more than $11 million in TV ads. The DSCC ran three of the best ads in the nation: the Rocking Chair series that painted Dole as old and out of touch. 

Towns also notes the old saying that "when you win you are considered brilliant." 

The Fix has named Sen.-elect Kay Hagan's campaign the best of 2008.

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza named the Greensboro Democrat's successful run against Sen. Elizabeth Dole as the best Senate campaign in a post today.

He noted that Hagan got into the race after better-known candidates such as Gov. Mike Easley and Rep. Brad Miller passed it up, started as a virtual unknown and stayed on message despite attacks. He also added that she got a major boost from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Hagan got into the race as a virtually unknown candidate both in North Carolina and nationally, but quickly showed a capacity to raise money that opened the eyes of many people in Washington. On her first trips to the nation's capital, she wowed even the most cynical of party operatives with a charisma about campaigning and a no-nonsense approach to what needed to be done to beat Dole.

In the end, Cillizza notes, Hagan beat Dole 53-44.

He gave an honorable mention to Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.

Chris Cillizza says "Rocking Chairs" was the most effective Senate ad this year.

On The Fix blog, the Washington Post reporter writes that an ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee featuring two old men discussing Sen. Elizabeth Dole's record (and her age, not so subtly) helped win the race:

Rarely does a single television ad change the direction of a race. This one did. Run by the DSCC independent expenditure arm in early August, the ad, which features two older men sitting on rocking chairs and debating Dole's lack of effectiveness and support of President Bush, framed Dole as changed and out of touch -- the narrative that ultimately beat her. This, to our mind, was the single most effective ad run in any Senate race in the country.

The Washington Post remains bullish on Kay Hagan.

On The Fix blog, political reporter Chris Cillizza ranks North Carolina the sixth most competitive Senate race this year and gives Hagan good odds: 

Down in most public and private polling, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) went for a long ball this week in the form of an ad that seeks to raise questions about the religiosity (or lack thereof) of her opponent -- state Sen. Kay Hagan (D). The move was roundly lambasted by newspapers in the state and seemed more likely to backfire on Dole than accrue to her political benefit. Hagan is in strong position to pull a major upset. (Previous ranking: 7)