Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will campaign in Greenville as the Democratic National Convention gets under way in Charlotte.

Ryan will appear at a rally at East Carolina University on Monday. The event will be in the Student Recreation Center, where doors will open at 11 a.m. for a program scheduled to begin at 1:20 p.m.

Ryan was expected to join running mate Mitt Romney on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. Both are making a slew of appearances around the country, together and separately, following the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

Ryan’s appearance in North Carolina at the same time as the Democratic convention isn’t all that surprising. Vice President Joe Biden had planned to spend two days campaigning in Florida during the GOP convention, but Hurricane Isaac forced him to cancel.

Watching governor’s race

North Carolina’s governor’s race remains one of the most closely watched in the country. The Washington Post continues to rank the state No. 1 among those likely to flip political parties.

Here’s the latest take: North Carolina (D): This race is still the strongest GOP pickup opportunity for the GOP, in a cycle that is chock-full of them. Former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory (R) released a new TV ad this week spotlighting the state’s unemployment woes (the unemployment rate is just below 10 percent), a message the GOP will underscore repeatedly in the fall. Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton (D) landed a speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, which should give him a near-term boost. Moving toward November, though, McCrory still has the upper hand. (Previous ranking: 1) See the full list from the Post at wapo.st/PStETB.

Dalton hopes for money boost

Walter Dalton is capitalizing on all the political money in North Carolina this week for the Democratic National Convention.

The Democratic nominee for governor is hosting a big-dollar fundraiser with seven other governors in the middle of DNC festivities Wednesday.

The 10 a.m. brunch will take place at the home of Crandall and Erskine Bowles, the latter being the former UNC system president and two-time U.S. senate candidate.

The price to attend starts at $250 and increases to $4,000, according to the invite.

The Democratic governors expected to attend: Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Mike Beebe of Arkansas, Steve Beshear of Kentucky, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Dan Malloy of Connecticut, Pat Quinn of Illinois and Pete Shumlin of Vermont. O’Malley is the head of the Democratic Governor’s Association.

Dalton is trying to close the gap in the money race against Republican rival Pat McCrory, whose rich campaign coffers are allowing him to remain on TV consistently through the Nov. 6 election. Dalton doesn’t expect to start his advertising campaign until mid-September.

Aiming at Obama

Ahead of the Democratic convention, Mitt Romney’s campaign is targeting North Carolina voters with a mailer that hits President Barack Obama on Medicare.

The flier features photos of Romney’s two-stop bus tour through North Carolina in August. (U.S. Sen. Richard Burr makes a cameo in one photo.) The message is the oft-repeated mostly false claim that Obama wants to raid Medicare of $716 billion and features an elderly gentleman slumped in a wheelchair above the kicker: “Barack Obama. What a disappointment.”

Whether Romney’s message is heard by the right people is unclear. Dome obtained the flier from a young voter in Carrboro, known as “Paris of the Piedmont” for its liberal values and solid Democratic voting bloc. So two swings and miss on that flier.

Staff writers John Frank and Craig Jarvis

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