Dispatches from the campaign trail, July 10, 2014

• The American Energy Alliance hits Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who in 2010 called for energy legislation setting a “price” on carbon emissions. AEA says that would amount to a carbon tax.

• The Hagan camp has agreed to three debates in the fall with House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Meckenburg. Tillis has asked for at least 10. No word on whether Libertarian Sean Haugh will be invited to participate in any of them.

• The New York Times‘ Nate Cohn looks at the difficulty of reading polls in Senate races, noting the presence of Haugh in North Carolina surveys.

• The Wall Street Journal‘s Reid Epstein suggests why Democratic Senate candidates up for re-election have been avoiding public appearances with President Obama but incumbent governors have not.

• Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson will make an appearance Tuesday before the Rowan County Senior Democrats. Hudson faces state Appeals Court Judge Eric Levinson in the November election.