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Members of the Democratic establishment and the Gov. Bev Perdue administration are rallying behind Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton  at a fundraising reception at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Todd and Elisabeth McGowan will host the dinner at their home on Anderson Drive in Raleigh. The minimum donation is $50 and contributions up to $4,000 are being solicited. Former Gov. Jim Hunt, Erskine Bowles and former Democratic primary rival Bob Etheridge are on the host committee.

Click below for a list of those scheduled to attend.

A final poll of likely North Carolina voters conducted over the weekend continues to give a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions an easy margin of victory in Tuesday’s election while the Democratic contest for governor is tightening.

The referendum holds a 16-point advantage, 55 percent in favor and 39 percent against, according to the Public Policy Polling survey, a left-leaning Raleigh-based firm. In the Democratic gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton’s 10-point lead from a week ago whittled down to a 5-point advantage in the final days. The polls showed Dalton getting about 34 percent of the vote and rival Bob Etheridge taking 29 percent. Four other candidates all received 4 percent or less. Read the full story here.

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Bob Etheridge has gone up on the air with a TV commercial answering a mailing from Walter Dalton criticizing several votes he made in Congress. The Democratic primary for governor is heating up several days before Tuesday's primary.

A new poll has former Congressman Bob Etheridge closing in on Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton in the Democratic primary for governor.

The Civitas Poll has Dalton at 25 percent, Etheridge at 23 percent, and state Rep. Bill Faison at 3 percent. The survey found that nearly half of the voters were still undecided.

That is much a much closer race than two recent polls taken by Public Policy Polling and for WRAL which showed Dalton with a more substantial lead.

In the lieutenant governor's race, the survey found a toss up with 18 percent supporting state Sen. Eric Mansfield and 17 percent supporting former state personnel director Linda Coleman. The other polls have shown Coleman with a significant lead.

The survey of 400 registered voters was conducted April 30-May 2 by National Research Inc. of Holmdel, NJ.  The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

UPDATE: The Civitas Poll also surveyed those who said they had already cast their ballots in early voting. Of those who had cast their ballots, 25 said they  had voted for Dalton, 19 for Etheridge, 4 percent for Faison, and 48 percent said they voted for someone else or refused to say.

In the lieutenant govenror's race, 34 percent said they had voted for Coleman, 13 said they had voted for Mansfield and 53 percent refused to say.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton has out raised former Congressman Bob Etheridge by more than a 4-1 margin in the Democratic primary for governor.

Dalton has reported raising nearly $1.4 million with $670,000 on hand as of April 21, the campaign reported. That compares to Etheridge who raised $310,000 and reported having $110,000 on hand at the close of the campaign reporting period.

The disparity has allowed Dalton to advertise much more heavily on television and has contributed to his movement in the polls in recent weeks. Both badly trail Republican Pat McCrory who has raised $3 million. McCrory has a fund raiser set for tonight at the Angus Barn featuring former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

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.

In one of the first shots of the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton has taken a jab at former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge for voting for a trade deal that he said cost North Carolina jobs.

In 2003, Etheridge voted for a trade agreement with Chile and Singapore that was backed by the Bush administration and opposed by most House Democrats.
"Someone running against me in the primary voted for that bill," Dalton told Charlotte's Uptown Democrats on Friday. "That was a bad deal."

Dalton's remarks signaled an effort to differentiate himself from the candidate widely seen as his main rival for the nomination to succeed Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue, reports The Charlotte Observer's Jim Morrill.

Former Congressman Bob Etheridge holds a small lead over Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton in the Democratic primary for governor with most voters still undecided, according to a new poll.

Etheridge has the support of 26 support of likely Democratic voters, while Dalton has the backing of 19 percent, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in Raleigh.

Among the second tier candidates, Bruce Blackmon leads with 5 percent, Gardenia Henley with 4 percent, and 2 percent each for Gary Dunn and state Rep. Bill Faison.

Etheridge's lead was largely due a 50-7 advantage over Dalton in the Triangle. Dalton leas in the Triad, Charlotte and in the mountains but not by a large enough margin to make up for Etheridge's huge lead in the Triangle.

Etheridge served in Congress for 14 years in 2nd congressional district, which includes part of the Triangle.

The Democrats are not very well known. Etheridge has 51 percent name recognition with a 34/17 percent favorability rating, but not known outside the Triangle or Eastern North Carolina. Dalton has 38 percent name recognition and 22/16 favorability rating. Faison has a 10/20 percent favorability rating.

The survey of 499 likely Democratic voters was conducted Feb. 29-March 4 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.