NORTH CAROLINA - NOT A BATTLEGROUND?
I've written often that people who think that John Edwards would not help the Democratic ticket win North Carolina were wrong, that they were putting too much stock in some polls suggesting he couldn't win his Senate seat. I said that because of fawning local media coverage that Senators generally get, and the local-boy-made-good angle, he'd certainly put North Carolina in play.

Maybe I'm wrong. A new Gallup poll of North Carolina voters shows the biggest lead yet for Bush over Kerry in North Carolina. Fifteen points, 56-41. Bigger than any other NC poll taken since last September. Bigger than Gore's 13 point win.

Compared to polling in North Carolina from March to right before the Edwards selection, putting a native North Carolinian on the Democratic ticket has given the Republicans at least a 7 point bump. Look for coattails if the margin is this big in November.