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U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan ranks in the ideological middle, according to the latest rankings from the National Journal. The Democrat, who faces re-election in 2014, ranks the 48th most liberal of the 100 senators, or 52 most conservative, depending on how you look at it.

Her Republican counterpart U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is the 23rd most conservative member in the chamber, the nonpartisan national political magazine found. National Journal ranked the lawmakers on 116 votes that showed differences in ideological viewpoint in the 112th Congress.

Among Democrats in the House, Congressman David Price is the most liberal at No. 32, followed by Mel Watt (45), former U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (83), G.K. Butterfield (121). On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick was the 32nd most conservative, followed by Reps. Renee Ellmers (43), Virginia Foxx (55), Patrick McHenry (62), Howard Coble (153) and Walter Jones (242).

Democratic Congressmen David Price and John Sarbanes will talk about the affects of big money in politics in a forum Thursday at Duke University.

The free event starts at 5 p.m. at Fleishman Commons at the Sanford School for Public Policy. Also on the panel: Anita Earls, the executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and state Rep. Larry Hall, the House minority leader. Gunther Peck, associate professor of history and public policy, will moderate.

MORNING MEMO EXCLUSIVE: GOV. McCRORY'S POLL NUMBERS SLIP. A new Public Policy Polling survey finds the new Republican governor's approval ratings at 45 percent to start his first term, down eight points from a month ago. The new poll -- set for release later Wednesday -- suggests his cabinet picks may have pulled his popularity downward. Among those who know, 31 percent approve of his cabinet and 24 percent disapprove. Likewise, more people disapprove of McCrory's controversial picks Art Pope and Tony Tata than approve, though most people aren't sure about the two.

MORE PEOPLE UNSURE: The Raleigh-based Democratic polling firm found Republicans approve 73 percent to 6 percent, independents split 43 to 23 and Democrats even at 26 percent. All the numbers are lower than the previous month, with those people unsure what to think about McCrory on the rise. The falling numbers put his approval rate at the start of his term in the neighborhood of his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Bev Perdue. Four years ago, she started with an approval rating at 43 percent.

***This is the Dome Morning Memo -- the source for breaking news, analysis and a daily news digest for North Carolina politics.

Legislative map-drawers revealed their redrawn congressional districts this afternoon and show a very different configuration for the districts in Central and Eastern North Carolina.

The 13th District would no longer swing north of Wake County to encompass counties along the Virginia border. Instead, it swings east to include parts of Warren, Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Franklin, Vance and Warren counties.

The 1st District, a majority-minority district, no longer includes parts of Wake, but comes into Durham County instead.

Two Democratic incumbents, Reps. Larry Kissell of Montgomery County and Mike McIntyre of Lumberton are in the redrawn 8th District.

The legislature is expecting to vote on new legislative and congressional districts next week.

Update: AP reports that Democratic Reps. Brad Miller of Raleigh and David Price of Chapel Hill are in the same district.

B.J. Lawson, the GOP 4th district congressional candidate,  has signaled that he intends to run a third time against Democratic Rep. David Price.

Lawson said he called Price and while he couldn't get through, he left an email message.

“I congratulated him on winning re-election,” Lawson wrote in an email to supporters.
“Then I told him that while I was willing to concede this election, I am not willing to concede our country. I will see him again in 2012.”

“JoLynn and I are going to spend some much-needed time with the children over the next few weeks, but we are going to be working,” Lawson writes. “Working to fix health care, working to grow our economy, and working to raise the money needed to defeat David Price in 2012.”

Lawson was encouraged that he won 43 percent of the vote Tuesday compared to 37 percent of the vote in 2008.

B.J. Lawson, the Republican candidate in the state's 4th Congressional district, has pledged to donate $1 million to charity if he breaks his word not to serve more than four terms. Lawson, a medical software entrepreneur, is challenging 11-term Democratic incumbent Rep. David Price.

Lawson announced Tuesday he will sign a term limits pledge with the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits. The non-profit group, based in Pinehurst, bills itself as a grassroots, non-partisan organization dedicated to getting candidates for state and national office to back promises to serve a limited number of terms with a promissory note for a "credible portion of their personal funds."

Of course, before keeping that pledge, a candidate must first be elected. So far, none of the 13 Congressional candidates who have signed with the group have reached that goal.

U.S. Rep. David Price was North Carolina's top solo earmarker.

According to a database compiled by the nonprofit Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Chapel Hill Democrat was singlehandedly responsible for $24.3 million in earmarks in this year's spending bills.

He was followed by Reps. Heath Shuler ($14.9 million), Bob Etheridge ($11.2 million), Robin Hayes ($8.6 million) and Virginia Foxx ($7.6 million).

At the bottom of the list, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who was responsible for just $856,000 in solo earmarks.

The list shift slightly if you include earmarks requested along with other members of Congress. On that list, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is top with $147.8 million, followed by Sen. Richard Burr ($116.2 million), Price ($90.1 million), Hayes ($43.8 million) and Rep. Mike McIntyre ($32.6 million).

Butterfield still comes in last, with $8.2 million.

Click below for North Carolina earmarks or here for the complete spreadsheet.

The new 2008 Almanac of American Politics — a sort of political bible for Beltway junkies — landed on Dome’s desk last week smelling of fresh ink. The book is crammed with trivia.

The 1,800-page tome, published by National Journal, has details on voting records, election opponents and inside baseball on every member of Congress, Barb Barrett reports.

A few bits from the Triangle delegation:

* On Sen. Elizabeth Dole: "During the 2005-06 cycle Dole spent relatively little time in North Carolina and ended the year with only $245,000 cash on hand." The entry goes on to list all the Democrats uninterested in taking her on: Gov. Mike Easley, Mary Easley, Erskine Bowles, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, Treasure Richard Moore, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Rep. Brad Miller.

More after the jump.

Federal intelligence agencies must provide Congress with a detailed report by April 2008 of all the private contractors performing intelligence work for the U.S. government under language inserted into the Intelligence Authorization Bill on Thursday by U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, Barb Barrett reports.

The report would include specific programs and responsibilities of contractors, the justification for hiring private companies to do such work, and an estimate of the costs or savings of hiring private contractors for intelligence work.

“We want to know exactly what the government is asking contractors to do,” said Paul Cox, Price’s spokesman. “We have serious concerns about prisoner interrogation, about private surveillance, about the transfer of prisoners between countries.”

The bill, which provides annual authority for intelligence programs, passed the House Thursday night.

Price had the language inserted because of increasing concerns about the roles of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.