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Teamsters Local 391 endorsed Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton in the Democratic primary for governor.

Local 391 is the largest of the three locals in North Carolina, with 8,000 members from the Triad to the coast.

Dalton is in a crowded primary where the other main competitors are former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge and state Rep. Bill Faison.

Two of the three Democratic candidates for governor will debate tonight at WTVD.

Former Congressman Bob Etheridge and state Rep. Bill Faison will participate in the debate, but Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, citing a scheduling conflict, will not.

The one-hour debate be live streamed over the Internet at 7 p.m. tonight on ABC.com and broadcast on a delayed basis at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

The three Democrats will participate in three live debates next week.

Dueling for advantages in the run-up to the May 8 marriage amendment vote continues apace.

The pro-amendment side, Vote for Marriage NC, tweeted today that it has talked with more than 4,000 pastors and has more than 600 “church captains” across the state. From the beginning, the pro side has planned to win the fight in churches. Looks like they’ve been busy.

On the flip side, the Coalition to Protect All NC Families, today released five videos with candidates for the state’s highest offices taking a stand against the amendment. They are all Democrats: gubernatorial hopefuls Walter Dalton, Bob Etheridge and Bill Faison, and lieutenant governor candidates Linda Coleman and Eric Mansfield.

Earlier in the week, “Clergy for Equality,” a group of 30 leaders representing 12 faith traditions, announced they plan to oppose the amendment through sermons, liturgy and prayer, The Charlotte Observer reported. The state’s two Catholic bishops have announced their support for the amendment.

The three announced Democratic candidates for governor are scheduled to appear together Friday night at the Wake County Democratic Party's 32nd annual Valentine Fund raiser.

Scheduled to speak are Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Rep. Bill Faison and former Congressman Bob Etheridge.

The event, which start at 5;30 p.m. at the headquarters of the N.C. Association of Educators Building, is likely to be abuzz about who is and is not likely to get into the race.

Three major Democrats have said they are looking at the race, state Sen. Dan Blue, Congressman Brad Miller, and former state Treasurer Richard Moore.

The word on the street is that Blue seems to be leaning against entering the race. Miller was supposed to have made a decision a week ago, and every day that goes by without any word, raises questions about whether he is having doubts.

Moore is still making calls and seems the most likely of the three to enter the race at this juncture, according to several Democratic insiders.

North Carolina's governor's race consistently ranked as one of the most competitive in the nation for the past year. And despite Gov. Bev Perdue's departure, The Washington Post says it remains the one most likely to switch parties this election year.

"From the primary to the general election, it all translates to a contest that was and will continue to be the marquee governor’s race of November, perhaps even more so after Perdue’s exit," writes the Post's Aaron Blake. 

Read the full analysis at the newspaper's political blog here.

State politicos are waiting for former UNC President Erskine Bowles to say whether he'll run for governor. 

With Gov. Bev Perdue bowing out of the race, other Democrats are weighing their chances against the soon-to-be-official GOP candidate, former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and state Rep. Bill Faison have already announced they are running. Public Policy Polling has Bowles as the strongest Democratic candidate. 

But Bowles, as he announced his retirement from the UNC presidency in 2010, said he'd never run for political office again. He ran for U.S. Senate twice and lost. 

"I have empirical data that I was a terrible politician," he said. 

In a crowded Democratic field for governor, only Erskine Bowles can match Republican Pat McCrory at this point, according to a poll released Monday.

Bowles, the former two-time U.S. Senate candidate, trails McCrory 44 to 42 percent in a hypothetical matchup -- a virtual deadlock with McCrory's advantage within the 4.2 percent margin of error. The problem: Bowles isn't in the race yet.

The Public Policy Polling survey tested 13 Democratic candidates against McCrory, the likely GOP nominee and former Charlotte mayor, after Gov. Bev Perdue dropped out. Pollster Tom Jensen argues that Democrats have a better chance with Perdue out of the race. In a generic partisan matchup, voters split evenly -- 46 percent supporting a Democratic candidates and 45 percent supporting a Republican. 

Gov. Bev Perdue does not have to worry about a threat in a Democratic primary, according to a new poll.

Perdue would defeat state Rep. Bill Faison by a 62-18 margin in a primary, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic leaning firm based in Raleigh.

She has strong support in every segment in the party, the poll found, including 62 percent among those who consider themselves very liberal, 72 percent among those who are somewhat liberal, 61 percent among moderates, 59 percent among women, 67 percent among women, 58 percent among men,  68 percent among blacks, 54 percent with young voters, and 68 percent with seniors.

While Perdue trails likely Republican challenger Pat McCrory by a 47-42 percent margin, some of the other Democrats whose names have been bandied about as potential Perdue alternatives do not do any better.

Faison would start a race with McCrory down 45-30, while Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton would start a McCrory race down 46-32, according to the poll.

Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper would start a race with McCrory trailing by three points, 42-39, while former University of North Carolina president Erskine Bowles would start a race with McCrory tied at 42 percent.

The survey of 760 voters, including 353 Democratic voters, was conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. The margin of error for the general election mandates is 3.6 percent and the margin of error for Democratic primary match-ups is plus or minus 5.2 percent.