• National Review Online looks at the controversy surrounding energy grants received by businesses owned by family members of Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. Over the weekend, the News & Observer and WRAL News entered the fray. Carolina Journal’s reporting is here.
• The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill suggests the Hagan-Tillis race will surpass the 1984 Jesse Helms-Jim Hunt Senate race as the most expensive election (in inflation-adjusted dollars) in state history. Sort of. Once you account for registered voters, as CJ’s Barry Smith did in June, it may wind up third. The 2014 candidates and their surrogates are on a pace to spend around $15.85 per voter. This would rank behind the 1990 Helms-Harvey Gantt contest ($16.11 per registered voter), and, of course, 1984, where Helms and Hunt altogether spent more than $20 for every registered Tar Heel. Maybe next time?
• Former Secretary of State (and likely Democratic presidential candidate) Hillary Rodham Clinton will appear with Hagan at a Saturday rally in Charlotte.
• The Washington Post and The Hill name Hagan as a winner of the third-quarter fundraising wars.
• UNC undergraduate Noah Lieberman is entering the statistical prognostication business, launching the pollinglab.com website to evaluate and analyze other polling services.
• Remember: Early voting opens Thursday. Find an early voting site by searching your county’s Board of Elections site through this portal.
