ncspin

That's right. You'll have to wait.

Today, two NC blogs that traffic most in rumors (The Soup and NCSPIN) were both definitive in their stories that Grier Martin is running - and that he is not running.

The Soup, which had a jump on the Kay Hagan announcement, says their sources say Grier says he's not running. NCSPIN, on the other hand, had this to say (by email):

Martin will run
We hear from reliable sources that Representative Grier Martin (D-Wake) will challenge Senator Elizabeth Dole for the 2008 U.S. Senate. The two-term legislator is known to have political ambition, but was hesitant when Senator Kay Hagan was also considering the Democratic nomination. When Hagan (D-Guilford) announced earlier this week she wouldn’t run, there was little reason for Martin to stay out. We are told he has a two-week obligation for active duty with the National Guard, but will announce his campaign shortly after returning.

Representative Martin himself says (also via email) that neither posting has any basis.

I wonder if it's satisfying to make up crap and give yourself the illusion of legitimacy by saying "we are told" and "sources are telling us". Hmmmm. Now that I think of it, that's how the mainstream media have operated for years.

Democrats should be worried (NCSPIN 5/4/06)

Hidden quietly amidst the reports of Tuesday's elections returns was the story that the longest-tenured House Democrat, Edd Nye, was defeated. To report accurately, Nye trails William Brisson by 64 votes, but all the precincts are in and it appears unlikely that Nye can recover enough to claim victory.

What happened? Residents of the district saw yard signs all over with headlines saying, "House for Sale," displaying Edd Nye's picture. Joe Sinsheimer and his www.Jimblackmustgo.com campaign promised ads and yard signs against Black supporters. Nye was a House Appropriations Chair and member of Black's inner circle and had been rumored to become House Rules chair (see below).