CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will make her first North Carolina campaign appearance next week. On Tuesday, the Republican vice presidential candidate will speak at East Carolina University in Greenville. No one on the GOP ticket has visited the tarheel state since the party's convention.

Senator Barack Obama will be making his third public appearance in North Carolina in just two weeks. The Democratic presidential candidate will hold a campaign rally in Asheville Sunday. His wife, Michelle, will also be returning to the "Tar Heel State" on Tuesday. She will be holding a community event with military families in Jacksonville, NC.

Recent polls show Obama and John McCain running very close in North Carolina.