Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington continues to act like a U.S. Senate candidate, but he is not yet ready to announce a decision.

Cunningham was working the crowd at the Democrat's annual Vance-Aycock fund raising dinner in Asheville over the weekend, and he spent a few days last week in Washington attending a seminar put on by The Truman National Security Project, which trains young Democrats on security issues, Rob Christensen reports. He also met with Sen. John Kerry of Mass. and others.

But Cunningham said he has not made a decision on whether to enter the 2010 race for the seat now held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

"I am continuing to test the waters with Democrats around North Carolina," Cunningham said. But he added: "I am very heartened by the encouragement. North Carolina is looking for energetic new leadership."

Cunningham may be holding off until he sees what Congressman Bob Etheridge of Lillington decides.

Etheridge has been encouraged to get into the race by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which carries a lot of clout because of its ability to bank roll a Senate campaign. But Etheridge has not been moving around the state, and he was not at the Vance-Aycock Dinner, which is considered a must for a potential Democratic Senate candidate.

There are already two Democratic Senate candidates in the race, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis. Both Marshall and Lewis hosted hospitality suites at the Grove Park Inn, the site of the dinner.

Next year's race for U.S. Senate helped turn Asheville into a preview of the Democratic primary next year, as three candidates for the job were in town to mingle.

Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, lawyer Kenneth Lewis and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall were in town for the Vance-Aycock dinner, an annual gathering of Democratic faithful, which this year sold 500 tickets for a $100, a plate dinner, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

Lewis and Marshall have filed the necessary paperwork to run. Cunningham is exploring a race. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, is running to keep his seat and Democrats believe they have a chance at beating him.

The Asheville Citizen-Times caught up with Cunningham, Lewis and Marshall and they attempted outshine each other.

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KEYNOTERS ANONYMOUS: The state Democratic Party holds its annual fundraiser, gabfest and politicking party, the Vance-Aycock dinner this weekend in Asheville. After a nail-biting delay, organizers finally announced the keynote speaker, Jean Carnahan, who served as a U.S. Senator from Missouri for two years. After last year's dinner, which featured an appearance by then-candidate Barack Obama, this year's event promises to be a veritable "Who's That?" of Democratic politics.

AROUND THE WORLD: State Sen. Steve Goss, a Boone Democrat, had to correct his campaign finance reports this week to reflect that he did not incur $19,000 worth of mileage reimbursements in a four-month period. That amount of driving would have taken the senator around the world nearly twice. Hope he gets good gas mileage.

BRING IT ON: The State Board of Elections announced plans to hold a hearing into the campaign finance irregularities of former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. Gov. Beverly Perdue was quick to issue a statement welcoming the hearings. The statement seemed designed to accomplish two goals: 1) re-inforce Perdue's pledge to keep government clean. 2) Remind voters that she is not Easley.

IN OTHER NEWS: Treasurer Janet Cowell updates her office's ethics policy. New laws take effect, including one that legalizes affairs for couples who are all-but divorced. The Wake County Democratic chairman cautions would-be seekers of a state House seat that keeping the job is going to require some serious fundraising.

Gov. Beverly Perdue is writing her own story.

Literally.

A new feature on Perdue's Web site includes a brief biography of each of North Carolina's governors.

"No North Carolina governor, with the exception of Zebulon B. Vance, has been as venerated as Charles Brantley Aycock (1859-1912), with whose term the Democratic Party inaugurated a seventy-two year hold on the office," reads the biography of Aycock, which also helps explain, by the way, where this weekend's Vance-Aycock dinner got its name.

It's notable, if not entirely unexpected, to find that the biography of the current governor is both longer and more boosterish than any other on the list.

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The FiveThirtyEight blog ranks U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's seat as the 10th most likely to change parties in next year's election.

That's up one from August's ranking of 11. The blog, which analyzes polling data to make predictions, says the ground hasn't shifted much in any of the Senate races in the last month.

Elaine Marshall has entered the race and trails Richard Burr, but Burr's numbers are well below 50 percent.

Keep in mind that 10th place out of the 15 seats that are in play next year isn't exactly a winning ranking.

And exactly which Democrat will challenge Burr in November is not a settled question.

The Asheville Citizen Times reports that the hopeful candidates, Marshall, Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis will be working the room at this weekend's Vance-Aycock dinner, an annual gathering of party faithful.

Former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan will be the keynote speaker at the annual Vance-Aycock dinner this weekend. 

Carnahan's selection is notable partly for when it was announced: four days before the dinner, which serves as a fundraiser, rally and party for state Democrats.

Democratic Party chairman David Young said he was proud to have Carnahan speak at the 49th Vance-Aycock dinner.

"Her remarkable achievements, leadership, and dedication to improving the lives of working families are an inspiration to all of us."

Senator Carnahan, the first woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate, was appointed to the seat in 2001 after her late husband, Gov. Mel Carnahan, was killed in an airplane crash along with their son Randy and a campaign advisor just three weeks before the 2000 election. Missouri voters elected Governor Carnahan over John Ashcroft to the Senate posthumously.

Prior to serving in the Senate Carnahan served as Missouri's First Lady from 1993 to 2000. She was an advocate for on-site day care centers for working families, for childhood immunization, and for abuse centers, the arts, and Habitat for Humanity.

Carnahan’s son Russ is currently a U.S. Representative her daughter Robin is currently Missouri’s Secretary of State and running for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

With the Democrats' annual Vance-Aycock fundraising dinner in Asheville a little over a week away, there is still no scheduled speaker.

Democratic leaders are sending out fundraising e-mails boasting about what big speakers they had last year, reports Rob Christensen. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen was the keynoter, but Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama made a surprise visit. Obama was nearby prepping for a debate with his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3.

North Carolina Democrats are probably holding out for some big-name Democrat from Washington. They landed Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chairman, for their Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner dinner in Raleigh in the spring.

Given the emphasis that the Obama administration has put on North Carolina, which Obama carried by the slimmest of margins last year, a big name seems possible.

It's not just the N.C. Democratic Party that honors Vance and Aycock.

The state of North Carolina and the federal government have also chosen to honor former Govs. Zebulon Baird Vance and Charles Brantley Aycock.

Statues of the two men are on display at the U.S. Capitol building.

The statue of Vance is in the National Statuary Hall, a sort of Hall of Fame for each of the 50 states that doubles as a "spin room" following the State of the Union. He stands alongside such notables as Ethan Allen, Sam Houston and Jefferson Davis.

The statue of Aycock is located in the Crypt, directly below the Capitol Rotunda and near the gift shop.

Vance was cast in 1916 by Gutzon Borglum; Aycock was cast by Charles Keck in 1932.

The Vance-Aycock Dinner, an annual fundraiser for state Democrats named for the two men, drew controversy last year when some officials protested the two men's records on civil rights.

Vance was governor during the Confederate era, while Aycock participated in the 1898 Wilmington coup.

It was admittedly a tough act to follow.

Barack Obama  had brought the wildly partisan crowd of Democrats to their feet Saturday night with a surprise appearance at their annual dinner at the Grove Park Inn. But when his turn came, N.C. Gov. Mike Easley was in rare form, Jim Morrill reports.

— He said Obama, who was raised in Hawaii and went to Harvard Law, is a good fit for Southern Democrats.

"Barack," he said, "is Hawaiian for Bubba."

— Riffing off Sarah Palin's line at the GOP convention, he described
Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan.

"You know the difference between Kay Hagan and a pit bull?" he asked. "Nothin'."

— Looking down the dais at Rep. Heath Shuler from nearby Waynesville, he took note of the congressman's Republican opponent, Asheville psychologist Carl Mumpower.

"I'm asking you," Easley said, "who needs the therapy?"