... And one of those women politicians is Winston-Salem’s Mary Fant Donnan, who is running for commissioner of labor. Donnan says that her understanding of the struggles of rural workers is spurring her to run for the post. (She was the top vote-getter in last week’s primary by a slim margin and is likely headed for a runoff.) The Journal‘s Lisa Boone has a profile.

Here in North Carolina, as already noted, eight out of the state’s 19 superdelegates remain uncommitted. Two of those superdelegates have not yet been chosen; they will be named at the state party’s convention next month.

The other six undecided N.C. superdelegates are:

Congressman Bob Etheridge
Congressman Brad Miller
Congressman Mike McIntyre
DNC member Carol Peterson
DNC member Muriel Offerman
DNC member David Parker

Etheridge and Miller have no plans to endorse today, Media General’s Sean Mussenden reports. But Miller appears to be leaning toward Obama. “In four weeks, if Sen. Obama ends the contest with a 150 or 160 delegate lead and Sen. Clinton ends up as the nominee, Sen. Obama’s supporters will not think that it ended fairly. I think that will be a hard breach to heal,” Miller told Mussenden. And Under the Dome cites more evidence of Miller’s true preference.

Offerman, meanwhile, said she intends to wait a little longer. The Obama campaign called her today in the wake of Obama’s big North Carolina victory last night, but Offerman said she is not quite ready to make up her mind. She said she was “very impressed” by Obama’s showing yesterday, but she told Trail Mix, “I’m still thinking of letting the primary season run before I make a final decision.”

“The charge for superdelegates is that we consider what’s good for the country as well as our state,” Offerman continued. “And we haven’t heard from all the primaries, and who knows what’s going to happen in Michigan and Florida?”

Offerman would not say who she personally voted for in the primary — although she did let on that she didn’t vote for Mike Gravel.

Meek, who is also a superdelegate, said in a written statement:

“Although my position as State Chair has led me to remain neutral through the primary, I’ve quietly celebrated as Barack Obama offered new hope to millions of Americans who have lost faith in the American dream after years of disastrous Republican policies. Rarely does a public servant emerge with Barack Obama’s ability to unite our country and produce real change.”

Meek also said that Obama would carry North Carolina in the general election.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton picked up a different North Carolina superdelegate: Congressman Heath Shuler, who had said on Monday that he would endorse whichever candidate won his district in western North Carolina. As expected, Clinton won the district.

Obama now has the backing of eight superdelegates from North Carolina, while Clinton has the backing of three. Eight other superdelegates (including two who will be chosen at the state party convention) are still outstanding.

Barack Obama put to rest all of the talk about Hillary Clinton’s late surge in North Carolina, trouncing her by double digits and strengthening his bid for the presidential nomination.

Beverly Perdue and Pat McCrory, the favorites in the gubernatorial primaries, each won by large margins. Now those two — who have opposite approaches to state government — face off in a general election. Perdue and McCrory do have one thing in common: they are each trying to break a barrier. Perdue wants to be the first woman governor; McCrory wants to break the “Charlotte curse.”

Two races went down to the wire. The Democratic primary in the 5th Congressional District is too close to call and will come down to provisional ballots. Roy Carter had a razor-thin lead over Diane Hamby. Both are fighting for the right to run against Congressmwoman Virginia Foxx. And in the Democratic primary for commissioner of labor, Winston-Salem resident Mary Fant Donnan appears headed for a run-off.

Across North Carolina and in Forsyth County, voter turnout was colossal.

With about half of the state’s precincts reporting results, Perdue has a large lead in the Democratic primary over Richard Moore, and McCrory is handily winning the Republican primary over Fred Smith. Both Moore and Smith have conceded the race.

Moments ago, Perdue finished her victory speech at a rally in Raleigh. “Tonight is a victory for our message of opportunity, education and standing up for the middle class,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kay Hagan won a resounding victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, ensuring that she will run against Elizabeth Dole in November.

Full results of all the state contests can be found here.

So much for a late night of watching presidential returns.

North Carolina’s polls just closed, and all of the major networks are already calling the state’s primary for Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton leads in early results from Indiana, but the race there is initially too close to call.

Pictured above: Obama meeting with supporters in Raleigh earlier today.

It’s primary day! Go vote!

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton has repeatedly argued that she is more electable than Obama against John McCain, citing polls that show Clinton performing better in key November battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Obama responded directly to that argument today, after being asked about it by a voter at Durham’s Cree, Inc. manufacturing plant.

First he said that he could do well against McCain because of their sharp policy differences, and he said that polls show him doing well in states like New York and California and “potentially winning” in states like Pennsylvania.

But then Obama closed by saying, “Don’t buy into this electability argument. Go with who you think best represents your vision of where America needs to go. And if you do that, I’m absolutely confident that that person will win. This is our opportunity to make a clean break from the past.”

Obama also addressed concerns that his candidacy has been weakened by some of the negative press attention he has received over the past few weeks. “There’s no doubt we took a hit” on the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama said, adding that he believes he is still progressing toward the nomination despite attacks that Obama described as “reaching.”

“You know that folks are reaching when the big attack on me is that I’m not wearing a flag pin, or that I served on a board with a guy who was a member of the Weathermen back in the 1960s. They’re reaching.”

Here’s a round-up from a busy weekend on the campaign trail:

Bill Clinton stumped in Kernersville yesterday, continuing his role as his wife’s chief ambassador to small-town America.

In both North Carolina and Indiana, Obama and Clinton continued their debate over whether to suspend the federal gas tax during the summer.

The two candidates also are working to cut into each other’s demographic bases. They are also unleashing celebrities on their behalf.

Is North Carolina the less important of the two May 6 primary states? No.

And full coverage of Friday night’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

In separate speeches before a raucous crowd of thousands at the N.C. Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, both candidates said the party would be united in the general election. And they both promised to work hard for their opponent if their opponent won the nomination.

“We all know that what unites us as Democrats is so much greater than the differences, and the stakes are too high for us not to pull together as one team,” Clinton said in her speech. “I will tell you this: If Sen. Obama is the nominee, you better believe I’ll work my heart out for him. And if I’m the nominee, I know Sen. Obama will do the very same for me.”

Said Obama: “Although we are campaigning vigorously and we have serious differences in both policy and approach, one thing I can say is that our differences pale in comparison to our differences with the other party.”

But Obama and Clinton also continued to spar over a proposal to suspend the federal gas tax during the summer. Obama called it a gimmick that would have little impact, while Clinton said it would provide important short-term relief for ordinary Americans.

More on the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, and all the news from Friday’s campaign trail, in tomorrow morning’s Journal.

In the Democratic primary to take on Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, two underdogs are far behind Foxx in fundraising but will focus on getting out the vote in the primary, the Journal‘s Bertrand Gutierrez reports.

And in the Republican race for the 94th District of the N.C. House of Representatives, which represents Wilkes County, three candidates want to succeed incumbent Tracy Walker, who is not seeking re-election. The Journal‘s Monte Mitchell has a run-down.

Lots of campaign stuff going on today.

Beverly Perdue is campaigning for governor in Winston-Salem. At noon, she will be at the Forsyth County Democratic headquarters at 1128 Burke St., and at 1 p.m., she will meet voters at Dr. J’s House of Soul Food at 1527 Martin Luther King Dr. (Perdue’s opponent, Richard Moore, is campaigning in Charlotte.)

Chelsea Clinton will also be in Winston-Salem campaigning for her mother. At 2:30 p.m., she will answer voters’ questions at Salem College. Afterward, she travels to Lexington for another event at 4:45 p.m.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama is campaigning in Charlotte. Michelle Obama is in Durham and Asheville. Bill Clinton is in Indiana, but will return to North Carolina on Sunday and Monday. And both candidates will speak tonight at the N.C. Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Raleigh.

Early-voting sites (where you can still register to vote for the primary!) are still open. But not for much longer — Saturday is the last day. After that, you can vote on Tuesday, the day of the primary, but only if you’re already registered.

In other news, Media General’s Sean Mussenden takes an incisive look at trade, a key issue in North Carolina as both Democratic presidential candidates try to reach out to blue-collar voters. From the story: “The emotional debate focused on NAFTA has largely drowned out discussion of what economists say is a more pertinent trade issue in many states, including North Carolina, which holds its primary next week: That issue is trade with China.”

Hillary Clinton is running a negative ad in North Carolina.

The ad, titled “Trouble,” began running in the state last night. It criticizes Barack Obama over the nation’s housing crisis and the high price of gasoline. The ad says that Obama opposed a freeze on home foreclosures and opposes suspending the gas tax this summer. The ad is also running in Indiana.

It is the first negative TV ad by either candidate in North Carolina. You can watch it above.

Meanwhile, Clinton launched another new ad today — a decidedly positive one — featuring Wake Forest University poet Maya Angelou. You can watch that ad here.