Latest dispatches from the campaign trail, August 1, 2012

• Gov. Bev Perdue may not speak at the Democratic National Convention.

• District Court Judge Kirby Smith, who was appointed by Perdue to fill a vacancy in the 3B District, has suspended his campaign for election. He finished a distant second to New Bern lawyer Dave McFayden in the May runoff.

• A poll by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee shows incumbent Rep. Mike McIntyre 19 points ahead of his Republican challenger, David Rouzer.

• Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will take his bus tour through North Carolina in mid-August, about the time he’s expected to choose his vice presidential running mate.

• Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will campaign for Republicans today in Asheville.

• Crossroads GPS, the conservative PAC founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove, launches an ad in North Carolina and elsewhere attacking President Obama’s economic record.