First, Governor Beverly Perdue's poll numbers dropped so low that she decided not to run for reelection - catching many in the party off guard.
Then, a scandal at party headquarters had state leaders calling for the chairman of the state party to resign.
And in the last few months, what was once seen as a battleground state for President Obama is now tilting towards Mitt Romney.
In 2008, the President won North Carolina by 14,000 votes, but faces a tough challenge this time given statewide unemployment of 9.6 percent, higher than the vexing national rate of 8.3 percent.
But Democrats aren't planning to go quietly. Gov. Perdue and other top leaders rallied delegates at a breakfast before the Democratic National Convention Tuesday.
Perdue argued the state is better off under President Obama than it was four years ago. She pointed to job creation, new investments and education.
"The challenge for us in this race and the challenge for America is to remember that we're looking into the future. We're not looking to go backwards," Perdue said.
And Perdue appears fired up. Telling Supreme Court candidate Sam Evans IV: "Let's kick their asses," as she leaned in to shake his hand Tuesday morning.
The remark wasn't meant to be public, but an ABC11 camera was close enough to pick it up.
Click here to watch the video.
Perdue is scheduled to speak to the full convention Tuesday night.
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