• Filing ends soon! Candidates seeking office from one of the recognized political parties in the current election cycle must file the proper paperwork and pay the necessary fees by noon today. Stay tuned here and to Carolina Journal Online for updates after the deadline passes.
• Robert Holding, brother of U.S. Rep. George Holding, R-13th, could blow up the 2nd District contest if he decides this morning to file for the GOP nomination. Robert Holding says he’ll write a personal check for $1 million to jump-start his campaign against incumbent GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers. And in case you haven’t heard, “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken and former state Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco are among those Democrats seeking the seat.
• Taking sides on an issue that will distinguish her from Republican and Libertarian challengers, Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will co-sponsor legislation raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. The Hill newspaper reports Hagan and Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska are the only “vulnerable” Democrats up for re-election who have signed on to the controversial legislation. Other Democrats have backed a more modest raise, to $9 an hour.
• Veteran incumbent Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-1st, will face opponents in both the May primary and November general elections. Henderson Democrat Dan Whittacre filed for the seat, and Rocky Mount Republican Brent Shypulefski submitted his paperwork Wednesday for the contest.
• Republican Jason “Molotov” Mitchell, who produced and distributed a video on YouTube backing a proposal in Uganda that would have imposed the death penalty on homosexuals and who also issued a series of “birther” statements challenging the validity of President Obama’s eligibility to run for president, has filed to run against Senate Minority Whip Josh Stein, D-Wake.
