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How do you pay the bills when the party’s over and the guests have gone? Democratic National Convention organizers are about to find out.

After struggling for more than a year to raise money – and ultimately coming up short – they face $10 million in debts and unpaid obligations, according to reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission. “This is a difficult debt to retire,” said Viveca Novak, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsive Politics. “If (President) Obama loses on Nov. 6, then very few people are going to want to give to this lingering debt from the convention.” Full story here.

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--As Mitt Romney's campaign shifts a staffer to Ohio, saying North Carolina is confidently red, the Obama campaign said rather than downsizing, it had in recent weeks added organizers. “This signals to North Carolina voters that the Romney campaign is taking their votes for granted,” said Cameron French, the chief spokesman for the state Obama campaign.

A new Rasmussen flash poll after the second presidential debate gives Mitt Romney high marks.

The Republican-leaning polling firm puts the Republican candidate ahead by six points. Romney received 52 percent support among likely voters to 46 percent for President Barack Obama.

A week ago, Rasmussen found Romney ahead by three points. The newer numbers give Romney a bigger lead than other polls suggest. The Democratic firm Public Policy poll put the race at 2 points.

North Carolina’s early voting period began Thursday morning with solid crowds hitting the polls on the first day. About 350 sites across the state feature early voting until Nov. 3.

Among those who arrived to vote early was a group from Obama for America, which marched from the organization’s Charlotte headquarters on East Ninth Street to vote early. At mid-morning, dozens of people were still waiting in line outside the building.

A wave of excited young voters helped lift President Barack Obama to a narrow victory in the state four years ago, but flagging support is now putting a repeat win in jeopardy. If Obama does end up losing North Carolina this election, it could be because of voters like Jennifer Bachelor.

An Elon University graduate, Bachelor cast her first vote for president for Obama, but she has agreed with his positions less and less as his term wore on. Her assessment of the president’s performance is so negative that the Raleigh resident watched the vice-presidential debate last week with other staunch backers of the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket at a GOP-sponsored party. Full story here.

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--Early voting starts today in North Carolina -- meaning everyday through Nov. 3 is election day. Find Triangle area voting sites here.

--Walter Dalton leveled a new ethics charge at GOP rival Pat McCrory in the debate. Read a fact-check here.

Mitt Romney's assault on President Barack Obama's policies in Tuesday's debate is made for TV.

The Romney campaign took snippets from the debate and put them into a new TV ad running in North Carolina. The 30-second spot is titled "Choice."

Citing scheduling conflicts, U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C., has declined to commit to a locally televised debate with Republican challenger Richard Hudson.

Hudson, in a statement released by his campaign, called on the Democratic congressman “to come out of hiding.” Full story here.

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--Get a rundown on the feisty second presidential debate and see a fact check on the candidates' statements. Students at Queens College gave the win to the president.

--Emulating President Barack Obama, Walter Dalton also took an aggressive stance while Pat McCrory bobbed and weaved in the governor's race debate. And see an excerpt from a key exchange.

For millions, the liveliest chatter about Tuesday night’s presidential debate will arrive 140 characters at a time – free of pundits in pancake makeup. With smartphones, tablets and laptops, debate-watchers will log onto Twitter.com and form a nationwide peanut gallery, adding instant context, fact-checking and gags to passive TV-watching.

Read more about social media's role in the debates and a preview here.

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--As Mike Causey pitched his take on homeowner’s insurance rates at a recent campaign appearance, he received little more than nods and smiles from the crowd. Then he invoked a line that’s been popular for Republicans: “People ask me my position on Obamacare; I’m opposed to Obamacare,” he said. Thunderous applause. The next insurance commissioner will play an important role. Read a profile of the race here.

The Winston-Salem Journal's editorial board endorsed Pat McCrory for governor and President Barack Obama.

The cross-partisan pollination from one of the largeset newspapers reflects North Carolina's possible direction on Election Day, pundits and pollsters suggest.

Four years ago the Journal picked Republican John McCain. But in selecting the president this year, the writers noted his foreign policy credentials and his economic policies. (Read excerpts below.)

North Carolina voters will decide whether the state superintendent of public instruction for the next four years should be an educator.

Democratic incumbent June Atkinson, 64, argues that her education degrees, her career as a teacher and state school administrator, and her two terms as state schools superintendent make her the right choice for the job. But her Republican challenger, Wake County school board member John Tedesco, 37, argues that what’s needed is a superintendent who represents taxpayers and families, and not someone who’s worked in the “Raleigh education establishment since 1976.” Read a full profile of the race here.

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Mitt Romney holds a two-point edge against President Barack Obama in the deadlocked North Carolina race, according to a new poll from a Democratic firm.

The latest Public Policy Polling survey gives Romney a 49 to 47 percent advantage among likely voters, a slight improvement for the GOP candidate compared to two weeks ago when the races was knotted at 48 percent. The lead is within the 3 percent margin of error, making the race a statistical tie.

"This now makes 26 out of 27 times polling the race in North Carolina that PPP has found Obama and Romney within three points of each other," writes pollster Tom Jensen.