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The Senate Conservatives Fund is hitting Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for failing to sign on to an effort led by conservatives to defund ObamaCare with a new radio ad. It's the group's third radio ad hitting incumbent senators over the issue. SCF on Tuesday launched ads targeting Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) for their opposition to a threatened government shutdown over defunding ObamaCare. The ad targeting Alexander is notable because he's been an outspoken opponent of the law. The top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Health Committee, Alexander has previously called the law "a...

The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) is targeting Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) with radio ads blasting their opposition to a threatened government shutdown over defunding ObamaCare. The Tea Party-affiliated group's move is a warning to the two senators not to position themselves against the conservative base, and is especially notable since Burr won't face election again until 2016. Graham has a trio of 2014 primary challengers, though he appears to be in a strong position for reelection. "Republicans in Congress can stop ObamaCare by refusing to fund it, but Senator Richard Burr says that's 'the dumbest idea...

A pair of tea party groups is teaming up to pressure key Republicans to support an effort to defund Obamacare. Tea Party Patriots and the grassroots group For America are launching online ads against a dozen GOP senators who either oppose the effort or haven’t announced a position. Along with the ads, leaders of the groups will embark on a six-state, five-day “Exempt America” tour (the idea being that the American people should be exempt from Obamacare) that will bring them to the home states of several of these senators. Update 12:01 p.m.: The conservative group Heritage Action is also...

The Republican plan to block debate on Senate Bill 649, which requires background checks on almost all gun purchases and transfers, failed spectacularly Thursday morning when sixteen Republican Senators joined almost all of the Democrats to vote in favor opening debate on the bill. Among those voting to defeat the filibuster were 9 Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, and 12 A-rated Republicans (out of 16 Republican “ayes”). Two Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), joined the majority of Republican Senators who tried to prevent debate, much less a vote, on the bill....

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Richard Burr, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said that the CIA has “flatly refused” to give some Benghazi-related documents to the committee, which is conducting an investigation of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the State Department and CIA personnel and facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Sen. Burr made the assertion last week at the confirmation hearing for John Brennan, whom President Barack Obama has nominated to be director of the CIA. Brennan currently serves as the president's counterterrorism adviser. “Mr. Brennan, as you know, the committee's conducting a thorough inquiry into the...

Maj. Gen. Richard Burr salutes with his palm facing out, like he's shielding his eyes from the sun. He wears a wide-brimmed felt "slouch hat" with a brown and green camouflage uniform. The two-star general in the Australian Defence Force stands out amid the American soldiers donning berets and green and beige fatigues at the U.S. Army's headquarters for the Pacific. But he's responsible for directing their training and exercises as U.S. Army Pacific's deputy commander for operations. The Army is also making Burr their liaison to New Zealand, his homeland Australia and countries in Southeast Asia. Burr's appointment —...

WASHINGTON (MCT) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy would merge under a bill introduced last week by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. The merged agency would be called the Department of Energy and Environment. Burr, a North Carolina Republican, said the merger would result in $3 billion in savings next year. Critics counter that such a move would weaken the government's role in protecting the environment. Burr introduced the bill Thursday. It has 16 co-sponsors, all Republicans. Burr acknowledged Monday that the bill doesn't have a good chance being heard in committee, a required for...

A member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee has told CNBC that the death of Osama Bin Laden was a direct result of enhanced interrogations."The information that eventually led us to this compound was the direct result of enhanced interrogations; one can conclude if we had not used enhanced interrogations, we would not have come to yesterday's action," US Senator Richard Burr in a telephone interview with CNBC. As a member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr was briefed on the attack on the compound that led to Bin Laden's death and believes the failure of Pakistani security forces...

Raleigh, N.C. — Democrat Elaine Marshall has narrowed the gap with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, but she still trails by a wide margin a week before the election, according to a WRAL News Poll released Tuesday. SurveyUSA polled 1,000 North Carolina residents Friday through Monday; 857 were registered voters and 590 said they were likely to vote. If the election were held now, Burr would garner 53 percent of the ballots cast by likely voters to Marshall's 38 percent. Libertarian Mike Beitler would finish with 5 percent of the vote, according to the poll. The poll has a margin of...

Republican Sen. Richard Burr holds a 58 to 34 percent lead over his Democratic challenger, Elaine Marshall, according to a new poll conducted for WRAL. The poll by SurveyUSA is second in the last week to show Burr opening up a huge lead over Marshall, as the Republican continues to own the TV airwaves and Marshall runs a low visibility campaign, reports Rob Christensen. The statewide survey of 582 likely voters, which was conducted Sept 10-13, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. The same poll two months ago found Burr leading by a 46...

Raleigh, N.C. – Democratic candidate Elaine Marshall faces an uphill battle in the race for US Senate due to low name identification and unaffiliated voters abandoning her by a 44 percent-31 percent margin in favor of incumbent Republican Richard Burr according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute. According to the live caller poll of 600 likely voters, Burr continues to lead Marshall as 44 percent of voters said they would vote for him if the election for U.S. Senate were held today. Thirty-seven percent said they would vote for Marshall, and 15 percent said they were...

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators, leads national Democrats' favored candidate Cal Cunningham by 16 points, according to a new Rasmussen poll (Jan. 27, 500 LV, MoE +/- 4.5%). Against Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, however, Burr's support drops below 50% and margin to 10 points.

With Democratic fortunes declining nationally it should perhaps come as no surprise that Barack Obama has now hit his lowest level of approval yet in North Carolina. 44% of voters like the job he's doing to 50% who are unhappy with him. Obama's lower numbers are due largely to movement among independents. They've been pretty evenly divided about him through most of his first year in office but are now splitting against him by a 61/33 margin. As has always been the case most Democrats (73%) approve the job he's doing while most Republicans (88%) don't. Obama's health care plan...

Congressman Bob Etheridge said Friday that he would not challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year, despite a concerted effort by the national Democratic Party to coax him into the race. The decision is another setback for the Democrats, who earlier this year failed to entice Attorney General Roy Cooper into the race, Rob Christensen reports. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has turned its attention to former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, an Iraq War veteran from Lexington, who had spent several months exploring a Senate bid, before announcing Monday that he would not be a candidate. Etheridge, a veteran Congressman,...

Survey of 500 Likely Voters in NC September 15, 2009 Burr (R) 48% Marshall (D) 38% Other 3% Not sure 11% Burr (R) 48% Lewis (D) 32% Other 7% Not sure 14% Burr (R) 48% Etheridge (D) 34% Other 3% Not sure 15% Richard Burr’s U.S. Senate seat has a recent history of high turnover, but the incumbent Republican holds double-digit leads over three Democratic challengers in an early look at North Carolina’s 2010 Senate contest. [snip] Despite Burr’s early lead, however, incumbents who poll under 50% are generally considered vulnerable. Burr, first elected in 2004, is expected to seek...

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...

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall filed paperwork Tuesday to create a campaign committee to run for the U.S. Senate next year. "We’ll have a more formal announcement in the future," said Thomas Mills, a consultant for Marshall. "We were feeling we just needed to get started in moving forward." Marshall joins Kenneth Lewis, a Durham lawyer and the only other announced Democratic candidate, in the field to take on U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican. Other Democrats eyeing the race include former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge. Marshall, a former state...

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...

It was Republican Sen. Richard Burr versus the Democratic congressman Tuesday night as they fielded questions on North Carolina television in a lively discussion about national health care. Burr, though agreeing that the current health-care system is "unsustainable," said the proposals by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats would cost too much, raise too many taxes and impose too many regulations. "I don't want the government handling any more," Burr said in agreeing with one caller who said the federal government had mismanaged too many programs in the past. But Burr of Winston-Salem was a lonely voice on the one-hour...