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Cal Cunningham has picked up the endorsements of two defeated Democratic opponents, Ann Worthy of Gastonia and Susan Harris of Old Fort.

"Cal Cunningham is an agent of change at a time when Congress needs new leadership," said Worthy, a teacher. "He is part of the solution."

Worthy finished sixth with 4 percent of the vote, Rob Christensen reports.

Harris, who finished fifth with 7 percent, said she supported Cunningham because he will support legislation that will "bring about dynamic jobs growth."

The big prize in the endorsement lottery was third place finisher Ken Lewis, who won 17 percent. Lewis endorsed Elaine Marshall last week.

The only Democratic Senate candidate in the May 4 primary who has not endorsed is Marcus Williams, the fourth place finisher who received 8 percent.

Cunningham and Marshall face each other in the June 22 runoff.

Heading into the final days of the Senate primary, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has opened up her lead, according to a new poll.

Marshall now leads former state Sen. Cal Cunningham by a 28-21 percent margin, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling. The poll was taken Saturday and Sunday of 803 likely voters and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent, Rob Christensen reports.

The survey showed Marshall with a larger lead than a week ago, when she led Cunningham by a 26-23 percent margin. The major reason, the pollsters found, was a shift of black voters to Marshall.

But Tuesday's primary remains highly fluid with 33 percent of those polled still undecided.

It should not be noted that polls in low turnout primaries are particularly unreliable because of the difficulty of measuring who will actually show up to vote. The changes are also within the margin of error. 

The survey concluded that the primary is a two-person race. Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis received 9 percent support from those surveyed, followed by Marcus Williams with 4 percent, Ann Worthy with 3 percent and Susan Harris at 2 percent.

It is still not clear whether any candidate will be able to pull 40 percent of the vote on Tuesday to avoid a runoff.

"Beyond the fact that Marshall and Cunningham will be the top two finishers on Tuesday we can't say how this will shake out," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "The high level of undecideds means you can't count Cunningham out, and there's still a distinct chance we'll be going another seven weeks to get a winner."

The survey found that 70 percent of Cunningham's supporters are completely committed to him, compared to 60 percent of Marshall's supporters. The largest number of undecided voters was in the Charlotte area where Cunningham began running TV ads last week, but where Marshall has not run any TV ads.

The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer have profiled all candidates running for U.S. Senate. Read the stories before you cast your vote.

Democrats

Cal Cunningham.

Ken Lewis.

Elaine Marshall.

Ann Worthy, Marcus Williams and Susan Harris.

Republicans

Richard Burr.

Eddie Burks, Brad Jones, Larry Linney.

The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer are publishing profiles of the candidates running for U.S. Senate. Dome will feature the stories when they run.

They are the Democratic Senate candidates with no staffs, no money, and if the polls are correct, little chance of winning the May 4 primary.

But Marcus Williams, a Lumberton lawyer; Ann Worthy, a Gastonia schoolteacher; and Susan Harris, a semiretired accountant from Old Fort, hope to get their message out. They have labored in the shadows of better-known, better-financed candidates: Cal Cunningham, Ken Lewis and Elaine Marshall.

The best known of the second tier is Williams, who is making his fifth run for office.

Worthy is best known as the stepmother of former UNC-Chapel Hill and NBA basketball star James Worthy.

Harris, 53, of Old Fort has not appeared with the other Democratic candidates at forums or in the televised debate. She could not be reached for comment.

Read the profile by The N&O's Rob Christensen.

Previously:

Cal Cunningham.

Ken Lewis.

Elaine Marshall.

The format for tonight's Democratic Senate debate includes plenty of room for the candidates to answer questions.

The debate, to be broadcast live at 7:30 p.m. on NBC-17 and streamed live is co-sponsored by NBC-17 and the League of Women Voters of N.C. Questions for the candidates will come from questions submitted by voters as well as a panel of journalists.

Debate moderator, Kim Genardo, said the debate will have three segments. Candidates will not make an opening statement, but will have an opportunity to give a closing. Each candidate will have the option to use two rebuttals throughout the night. 

Democratic candidates scheduled to participate in the debate include Elaine Marshall, Cal Cunningham, Ken Lewis, Marcus Williams and Ann Worthy. 

All six registered candidates were invited to participate, said Judie Burke, a board member of the League of Women Voters. Candidates had to demonstrate that they met a certain threshold of effort in their campaigns. Susan Harris of Old Fort did not return her invitation. 

Dome will be blogging throughout the event, so check with us for analysis and any claims that need a good ol' fact checking.