RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - North Carolina is a bad memory for Hillary Clinton, but if the Democratic former senator, First Lady and Secretary of State hopes to win the presidency, she will have to win the state that handed her a resounding primary loss in 2008.

Clinton lost to then-Sen. Barack Obama by 14 percentage points in May 2008 -- 200,000 votes -- as the bruising Democratic primary made its way into North Carolina.

Clinton made her official announcement on Sunday, saying she wants to be the champion for "average Americans." So far, no other Democrat appears to be heading toward challenging her for the nomination.

On the Republican side, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky have made their bids for the GOP nomination official. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is expected to announce something on Monday, but it's unclear if it will be an official presidential run.

The Democrat polling firm of Public Policy Polling shows that if Clinton and Cruz were the party's nominees, the race would be a dead heat, with 10 percent unsure.