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RALEIGH — Grab your helmets and strap in tight. Politics is always a wild ride, but 2008 looks to be a particularly fast track, starting with the Iowa caucuses this week.

The pedal will stay to metal as filing for local and state campaigns begins in February. And although North Carolina's May primary is a bit too late to sway the presidential campaign, there will be plenty of action from U.S. Senate on down the ticket.

Meanwhile, those already in office will have no shortage of work, including the Greensboro City Council probing a spike in violence and the N.C. House potentially expelling one of its own.

Here are eight questions that might help you navigate the traffic and keep you out of the pits at the turn of 2008 and beyond.

Will local boys and girls make good in statewide races?

State Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, is making a play for one of the biggest stages in American politics, a run for the U.S. Senate.

Hagan is one of four Democrats to announce they will aim for their party's nomination and a chance to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Since she was first elected in 1998, Hagan has garnered a reputation as an advocate for Guilford County and an able legislative technician. She will try to parlay that success at the state level into a credible challenge to Dole, who is well-funded and well-known.

But Hagan won't be the only politician with Greensboro connections on the ballot, or even in her race.

Jim Neal, an investment banker who now lives in Chapel Hill, is the other front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race. Neal grew up in Greensboro.

Meanwhile, Republican Steve Troxler, a Browns Summit farmer, plans to seek re-election as the state's Agriculture Commissioner. And Bob Crumley, a Republican trial lawyer whose practice is based in Greensboro, plans to challenge Democratic incumbent Roy Cooper for attorney general.

Will Terry Grier be outta here? If so, what will that mean for school board elections?

Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier is reportedly a finalist for the top job in the San Diego school system, although there has been no word about his prospects since he interviewed last month.

Grier came to Guilford County in 2000 and has earned both praise — he was recently named North Carolina's superintendent of the year — and hostility. In 2004, Grier and his controversial plan to eliminate attendance zones in High Point became the focus of a vociferous political movement.

Should Grier move on, it's all but certain that his tenure and choosing his replacement will become wrapped up in school board races scheduled for the ballot this year — the same set that were up for election in 2004.

Will voters back school bonds and will commissioners turn to a sales tax increase?

Both voters and county commissioners will have financial matters to ponder this spring.

A $457 million school bond package could be on the May primary ballot. Approving new bonds may get needed new schools under way, but they almost certainly will mean a tax increase for voters.

Meanwhile, county commissioners are faced every year with the option of raising taxes. But this year, the General Assembly has given them the option of asking voters to raise the sales tax by a quarter-cent — which would add $1.25 to the cost of a $500 television. Adding the sales tax could help stave off, or at least reduce, property tax increases. Most commissioners have said they don't want to use another option to raise the tax on land sales.

Will new officers curb street violence and will the City Council be able to settle police issues?

A spate of killings late in 2007 so alarmed the Greensboro City Council that it ordered $500,000 be cut from administrative jobs at City Hall so the money could be channeled to the police department.

Now the council and the rest of the city will see whether that move will help stem the violence that saw seven people murdered in a span of eight days last month.

Meanwhile, the council and police department continue to deal with reverberations from the 2006 resignation of Police Chief David Wray as well as more recent incidents, including assault allegations leveled against three male officers by a female officer.

How dry will we get?

Don't let the late-year drenching fool you: There's still a drought on.

Everyone — farmers planning for spring planting and those of us who just want a quick shower before work — will be keeping an eye on rainfall and lake level indicators throughout the year.

Will Guilford County lead the way or buck the trend in the presidential and gubernatorial campaigns?

All politics are local, and that goes for presidential campaigns and those hoping to be North Carolina's next governor.

In 2004, Guilford County was stubbornly blue even though almost every other area of the state cast its vote to re-elect Republican President Bush. Because of a late primary and what has historically been a GOP lock in the general election, don't expect to see too much of the campaign around these parts except when candidates stop by to collect a check or two.

Meanwhile, Guilford County could become a major crossroads on the campaign trail for governor. Democrats Bev Perdue, the lieutenant governor, and Richard Moore, the state treasurer, held their first one-on-one debate in Greensboro. High Point was the site of the first showdown among the declared Republican contenders: former Supreme Court justice Bob Orr, Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham and state Sen. Fred Smith.

Is this the year politicians get a handle on immigration issues, or will the issue handle them?

Polling has consistently shown that U.S. immigration policy, or lack thereof, has been raising hackles among voters. Congress aborted an attempt at an overhaul last summer, leaving it as an issue for the campaign season.

Is there anything else on our plates?

Plenty.

The legislature is due back in session in May, and the House could be called to consider expelling Rep. Thomas Wright, a Wilmington Democrat.

Former City Councilman Don Vaughan has announced he will seek the state Senate seat Hagan is vacating.

Along with elections for school board, contests for county commissioners, local judges, 10 statewide executive branch positions, a spot on the Supreme Court and High Point City Council will be at stake.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com