• It’s official! State Sen. Josh Stein, D-Wake (at right), will seek the 2016 Democratic nomination for attorney general. The current AG, Roy Cooper, will run against incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.
• It’s almost official! Former state Sen. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, has resigned as general counsel of the Go Triangle transit authority, which may be a sign she is planning to challenge two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year. Meantime, Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey is the first Democrat we know will run for the seat.
• A new High Point University Poll shows general disapproval with elected officials in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, and those numbers haven’t moved much since Spring. The survey of 402 adults finds Burr, President Obama, Gov. Pat McCrory, U.S. Sen. thom Tillis, Congress, and the General Assembly more disliked than liked, although Congress logged the most wretched scores of all (17 percent approval, 77 percent disapproval) while the General Assembly got some of the best (30 percent approval, 47 percent disapproval).
• New Hanover County Commissioner Woody White, who lost to eventual U.S. Rep. David Rouzer in the 2014 Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District, is hinting on social media that he make another run at the freshman federal legislator from Johnston County.
• Republican Taylor Griffin, who lost the 3rd Congressional District GOP primary to U.S. Rep. Walter Jones in 2014, definitely plans another campaign against Jones. He tells the Washington Free Beacon that Jones, who has been skeptical of U.S. interventions overseas, has a record of “appeasement” toward Iran.
• Maud Ingram, husband of state Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram, D-Northampton, and a probation officer, faces charges of the attempted rape of one of his probationers. Smith-Ingram said she was unaware of the basis for any charges.
