Day 1 Filing Roundup

I'm going to do a daily round up during the North Carolina filing period of what I found interesting. I could write a ton every day but I'm going to try to keep it short:

-Marcus Williams filed as a Democrat in the US Senate race. He actually really surprised some folks and got 13% in the primary two years ago, coming within five points of the much more heralded Jim Neal. I don't think he's a serious threat to win the nomination but he could have some impact on the race.

-We have a couple rematches in state senate races that were very close in 2008. Former representative Louis Pate is running against Don Davis again in eastern North Carolina. Davis won 53-47 last time around. This district has one of the largest black populations in the state and because of that Democrats are particularly prone to having trouble with Obama wave voters not coming back out. In Alamance and Caswell Counties Rick Gunn is once again challenging Tony Foriest. That was a 53-47 district in 2008 as well.

-On the good news for Democrats side of the spectrum, they're getting some credible candidates in tough districts. Former representative David Redwine filed for RC Soles' open seat and Gaston County school board chair Annette Carter put her name in for David Hoyle's open seat. Clayton mayor Jody McLeod is running against first term Republican David Rouzer, who won just 52-48 last time around. None of these districts will be easy for Democrats but it's a good sign for the party that good people are willing to run.

-William Brisson got a challenger for his seat in the House. Why is that notable? He's a Democrat in a marginally Democratic districts who didn't even have a Republican challenger in 2008. This is the kind of district where the GOP needs to win to have any chance at getting back the lower chamber and actually fielding a candidate is a good way to start.

In the interest of brevity I'll leave it at that for today!