Free Republic

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's approval rating remains below 40 percent, which might ordinarily be bad news for a politician, but he's still ahead of any of his potential Democratic challengers in next year's election, according to a poll released Friday. The approval rating for Burr, a Republican, was 38 percent, according to the survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm. In matchups against possible Democratic opponents, Burr beat: U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, of Lillington, by 41 to 34 percent. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who officially launched her candidacy this week, and former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, by the...

If the zingers Democrat Cal Cunnigham was directing at freshman Sen. Richard M. Burr last week are any indication, the former state senator is getting ready to take on the Republican incumbent in 2010. In a videotaped speech to a Democratic gathering in Charlotte now making the Internet rounds, Cunningham hit Burr early and often. "In 15 years on Capitol Hill you can't name one thing that Richard Burr has done to make your life better, and I can't either," he declared, referencing Burr's time as a senator and a congressman. Cunningham, an Iraq War vet, noted, "During the same...

Former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker is being courted as a possible Democratic opponent to Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year. And while he is not committing to anything, he is listening. Wicker, a Sanford resident who practices law in Raleigh, said he has had conversations with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, former Gov. Jim Hunt and others. "I'm still passionate about creating jobs and a higher standard for education and affordable health care," Wicker said. "And I still have those pangs of emotion about being involved in public service. "But I have been focused on my practice and I've...