Why North Carolina would be big game

If North Carolina is in play, it will be big game.

Though the state's presidential primary hasn't mattered since 1988, a number of factors could make the Democratic race highly competitive here if the race isn't decided by then:

1. The state is unaligned. Until recently, almost all of the state's major Democratic officials were backing John Edwards. Of them, only one—U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield—has since signed up for Barack Obama, and none for Hillary Clinton.

2. The state has bonus delegates. Because North Carolina did not rush to join the pack of early-voting states, the Democratic Party gave it extra delegates. The state's 134 delegates are worth more than Virginia, Indiana or Washington.

3. The state has good timing. After Texas and Ohio vote on March 4, the biggest stash of delegates will be Pennsylvania, which votes on April 22. Between then and May 6, only Guam will vote. That gives two weeks for Obama and Clinton to campaign here and in Indiana.

In addition, while North Carolina is a red state that hasn't gone for a Democrat for president since 1976, it has been inching towards being more of a swing state demographically. That could make it slightly more of a prize for either Clinton or Obama.