• President Obama will visit the Triangle next week to preview his upcoming State of the Union address and, presumably, campaign for Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.
• The three presumed frontrunners for the 7th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Mike McIntyre spoke with WWAY television in Wilmington about the upcoming race.
• Meantime, WECT television in Wilmington takes note of the way the 7th District’s boundaries were moved north and west during the 2010 redistricting, potentially making it more difficult for two of the candidates from the Wilmington area — Republican Woody White and Democrat Jonathan Barfield, both New Hanover County commissioners — to connect with voters.
• In a fundraising letter, Dr. Greg Brannon, who’s running for the Republican nomination to face Hagan in November, is using a scandal involving former staffers of House Speaker Thom Tillis to call his Republican rival “an establishment-backed insider.”
• State Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, who’s running for the 12th Congressional District seat that was vacated when Mel Watt took a federal appointment, is pushing for legislation that would force governors to fill vacant congressional seats more quickly than current law allows. Gov. Pat McCrory scheduled a special election to fill the 12th District seat Nov. 6, leaving constituents in that district without representation for nearly 12 months.
