Members of the state's congressional delegation have released statements reacting to Jesse Helms' death.

Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat:

Senator Helms dedicated his life to serving the people of North Carolina. Whether people agreed or disagreed with him, Senator Helms would always let his constituents know where he stood on the important issues of the day. My condolences go out to his family, his wife, his children and his grandchildren.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican:

Senator Helms was the truest of patriots. His passion for conservative principles and the vigor with which he pursued them was second to none. I consider Senator Helms to be a mentor and dear friend. He dedicated his life to ensuring that the America he knew and loved would remain a strong beacon of freedom in a tumultuous world. Senator Helms leaves behind a strong legacy of fighting for the freedoms that make America great, even in the face of the strongest of foes.

Today my thoughts and prayers go out to those Senator Helms left behind. I pray that God's comfort might be with all of his loved ones during this difficult time.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Cherryville Republican:

This morning, America lost a great conservative leader and North Carolina lost the greatest political leader it has ever known. The compassion and principle of Jesse Helms earned him respect and admiration across the political spectrum and in foreign capitals around the world. This Fourth of July let us celebrate both our independence and the life's work of this great man. A grateful nation sends its prayers to the Helms family.

How bipartisan has Sen. Kay Hagan been?

From 1999 to 2008, the Greensboro Democrat was the primary sponsor of 143 bills. Of them, 63 had no cosponsors, 36 had only Democratic cosponsors and 44 had Republican cosponsors.

Overall, her 366 cosponsors included 286 Democrats and 80 Republicans, for about a four-to-one ratio. She became more bipartisan during her time in the legislature, however, going from about a nine-to-one ratio of D-to-R cosponsors in the 1999-2000 session to about two-to-one in the current session.

The most frequent GOP cosponsors were Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Cabarrus County, who signed on to 14 bills; Sen. Stan Bingham of neighboring Davidson County, who signed on to 13; and Sen. Robert Shaw of Greensboro, who signed on to 10.

Sens. Hamilton Horton of Forsyth County and Richard Stevens of Wake County each cosponsored five bills; Sens. Virginia Foxx of Watauga County and John Garwood of Wilkes County, four; and Peter Brunstetter of Forsyth County and Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County, three.

Sens. James Forrester, Jim Jacumin, Jerry Tillman, Austin Allran and Harry Brown cosponsored two apiece, while Sens. Don East, Andrew Brock, Eddie Goodall, Harris Blake, Kenneth Moore, Fred Smith and Tom Apodaca each cosponsored one.

Previously: Hagan's Republican cosponsors in 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2007-08 sessions.

Pat McCrory has hired a new spokesperson.

Monday was the last day for Tom Gardner, McCrory's previous media person, said Jack Hawke, McCrory's chief strategist.

"We're going into the general election and we needed somebody with experience who had dealt with the media before," Hawke said. "Tom was a good man. I don't think he'd ever been a press person before. He did a good job for us during the period of time he was with us."

Hawke said Gardner had another job lined up.

On Thursday, Amy Auth, a former spokeswoman for Sen. Elizabeth Dole and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, will start as McCrory's new press person. Hawke said the campaign was going to send out a news release about the change, but as of Monday, he didn't have a press person to send a release.

Earler in his campaign, McCrory replaced another high ranking campaign official.

Hat Tip: David Ingram 

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones today accepted a petition signed by 200,000 people calling for double-layered fencing along 700 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico to restrict illegal immigration.

The petition was presented by GrassFire.org, Rob Christensen reports. It urges Congressional action on a bill the Farmville Republican introduced in January requiring construction of the fence by next June.

"By fully funding a physicial fence across the U.S-Mexican border, and setting a date for completion, we can regain control of our nation’s borders and stop the flood if illegal immigration," said Jones, a Republican, said in a statement.

Among those joining Jones at a Washington news conference was Rep. Virginia Foxx.

The American Conservative Union ranked two North Carolina representatives tops.

U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry and Virginia Foxx both scored 100 percent on the conservative group's annual Congressional ratings — two out of only 62 representatives to land among its "best and brightest" for the 2007 session.

At the same time, four Congressional Democrats — Reps. David Price, Brad Miller, Mel Watt and G.K. Butterfield — scored 0 percent, landing among the group's "worst of the worst."

The ratings were based on votes on a minimum wage hike, stem-cell research, the Iraq war, Amtrak funding, earmark reform, border security, support of Planned Parenthood and energy policy, among other things.

The rest of the delegation was in between. Among Republicans, Rep. Sue Myrick scored a 96, Rep. Howard Coble an 83, Rep. Robin Hayes a 79, and Rep. Walter Jones a 71. Among Democrats, Reps. Mike McIntyre and Heath Shuler, both Blue Dog Democrats, scored 44 and Rep. Bob Etheridge an 8.

Sens. Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole both scored a 92.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is heading to Wisteria Lane.

But she's not going there to visit the cast of "Desperate Housewives." Dole is going to raise money.

A Dome reader sent us an invitation to a fundraiser for Dole and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, both Republican incumbents seeking re-election, on May 10 at a Mooresville home on Wisteria Lane.

The cost to attend ranges from $200 to $2,000.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx says bloggers need protection.

The Banner Elk Republican is one of 34 cosponsors of the Blogger Protection Act, a bill that would protect bloggers from Federal Election Commission regulations.

Two years ago, the FEC ruled that bloggers' rights to free speech should not be overriden by campaign finance laws and that blogs should be treated like other publications.

The bill, whose chief sponsor is Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, would make those rulings a federal law.

"We must not leave the First Amendment rights of bloggers in the hands of the Federal Election Commission," Foxx said in a statement. "Bloggers’ rights are too important to leave them to the whims of a panel of federal regulators."

The bill would not affect online contributions to candidates, but it would allow bloggers to linkt o campaign Web sites. 

Foxx is the only North Carolina representative among the co-sponsors. 

Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds is stressing his Republican ties.

Edmunds told Republican voters in Watauga County that Republican judgeships are being targeted by Democrats in the upcoming election, the Boone Mountain Times reports.

The judiciary, he said, is the last area of government that has a Republican majority.

"I'm the one person standing between you and one-party government in North Carolina," said Edmunds, who is seeking reelection. Judicial elections are non-partisan, and the preamble to state rules of ethics calls for an independent judiciary.

Edmunds made the comments March 1 at a Watauga Republican convention, attended by gubernatorial candidate Bob Orr and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx.

He told Dome Tuesday that he tries to remain bipartisan, but judicial races have taken on a partisan tone. Wake Forest law professor Suzanne Reynolds, a registered Democrat, is vying for Edmunds' seat, Titan Barksdale reports.

"Every incumbent on the appellate level is being challenged by a Democrat, and we can't pretend that this is not happening," Edmunds said. "We're finding it very difficult to be bipartisan and non-partisan when we're being challenged in a partisan way."

Update: Reynolds said her decision to run is not motivated by partisan interests.

“I want to assure the voters of this state that there is nothing partisan about my decision to run for the North Carolina Supreme Court, and I am firmly committed to the principles of fairness and impartiality that should characterize the selection of judges," Reynolds said in an e-mail to Dome.

"I am running because I believe I can best use my experience interpreting and teaching law by serving on our Supreme Court.”

North Carolina's delegation didn't fare well in a power ranking.

The fourth annual report by technology consulting firm Knowlegis on Congressional power was based on leadership positions, indirect influence, legislative activity and earmarks. Scores were also weighted with a "Sizzle/Fizzle" factor.

The average score of North Carolina's delegation was 17.07, giving the state a rank of 44th.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr score 18.94, ranking 69th in the Senate; while Sen. Elizabeth Dole scored 13.39, ranking 93rd. (Burr's rank within his own party, 27th, was highest of Tar Heel pols.)

As the majority party, Democrats tended to fare better than Republicans.

In the House, Rep. Mel Watt scored 32.75, ranking 53rd; Rep. David Price scored 30.16, ranking 67th. The least influential were Rep. Robin Hayes, who scored 9.56 and ranked 360th; and Rep. Virginia Foxx, who scored 6.49 and ranked 399th.

No one in the North Carolina delegation received either "sizzle" or "fizzle" points.

Click here for the complete list and here for earmarks results.

U.S. Reps. Mel Watt and David Price got top grades on the environment.

The League of Conservation Voters gave both North Carolina Congressmen 95 percent ratings for their environmental voting records, according to this scorecard.

Rep. Brad Miller got a 90 percent, while Rep. Bob Etheridge got 85 percent.

The lowest rankings went to Rep. Patrick McHenry, who got a zero; Rep. Howard Coble, who got 5 percent, and Rep. Virginia Foxx, who got 10 percent.

Sens. Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole both received a 7 percent rating. 

Hat Tip: Facing South