• Republican Senate candidates Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and the Rev. Mark Harris collect a couple of major endorsements: Tillis from BIPAC, a Political Action Committee sponsored by large manufacturers and Harris from the Family Research Council PAC, the political organization of the conservative evangelical Christian group founded by the Rev. James Dobson.
• Meantime, Roll Call looks at the GOP contest to succeed Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, and notes many analysts and consultants think the May 6 primary is headed to a runoff.
• Even though Hagan has lapped the Republican field in fundraising and still is given roughly even odds of winning a second Senate term, as of Friday she hadn’t filed for re-election. Filing ends at noon the 28th.
• Former state Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco and “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken (who hasn’t filed yet) will have at least one more rival for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District: Fayetteville resident Toni Morris, a counselor and member of the state Democratic Party Executive Committee, who filed Friday. The winner of the nomination will face either incumbent GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers or her challenger Frank Roche.
• Democrats think they have an opportunity to regain control of the Wake County Commission. As Carolina Journal reported last week, election trackers see Wake County as one of the few true battleground areas this year in North Carolina.
