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National Republican leader expects N.C. to remain GOP
Chairman was in state to promote John McCain's candidacy
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Published: August 7, 2008
RALEIGH
Chairman Mike Duncan of the Republican National Committee said yesterday that he doesn't expect that North Carolina will break with its long tradition of voting for a Republican presidential candidate this year.
But Duncan acknowledged that Democrat Barack Obama does hold some advantages.
"We just can't take a state as important as North Carolina for granted, even though it's had a great history," Duncan said. "We understand that we have to have a competitive campaign here."
During a visit with other GOP leaders in Raleigh, Duncan touted the policies of Republican candidate John McCain, a senator from Arizona, and said that the party is united behind his campaign. Some had questioned if Republicans would solidly support McCain's candidacy.
Duncan acknowledged that Obama, a senator from Illinois, has some strengths, including his popularity among young adults and an established in-state campaign network left over from the state's May primary.
But Duncan said that North Carolina's electoral votes haven't gone to a Democratic candidate since 1976, and he doesn't expect that to change.
McCain has distinguished himself with a more comprehensive energy policy that includes both short- and long-term solutions to increasing supply and demand, Duncan said.
"The Democratic values and certainly the values that Barack Obama has been putting forth in this campaign don't match up well here in North Carolina, whether it's on national security, whether it's on gun ownership, whether it's on energy," he said.
Duncan and other top Republicans suggested that voters seem to be cooling to Obama's candidacy now that he has all but sealed his party's nomination.
"I think you'll see more and more people saying, ‘Wait a minute. I'm going for the substance, rather than the rhetoric,'" said Linda Daves, the chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party.
But Democratic leaders said that Obama's campaign isn't losing any steam.
They noted that they have had more success registering partisan voters than their GOP counterparts this year.
North Carolina now has more than 2.6 million registered Democratic voters, compared to slightly more than 1.9 million Republican voters, according to recent State Board of Elections numbers. About 1.3 million have not declared a party affiliation.
Chairman Jerry Meek of the N.C. Democratic Party said that Duncan's visit alone shows that the Republican Party is worried about losing the election. Duncan's visit comes on the heels of a late July visit from Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman.
"We are seeing John McCain defend a state that the Republicans have virtually taken for granted for the last three decades in terms of the race for president," Meek said.
Duncan would not predict whether the GOP will make any inroads this year into the Democrats' majority in each chamber in Congress, acknowledging that the slumping economy and rising energy costs could deter some voters from voting for GOP candidates.
But in North Carolina, Duncan said that Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole is "very well-positioned" to be re-elected, and Rep. Robin Hayes, who narrowly won his fifth term two years ago, also can win the 8th District.
The Republican National Committee also announced yesterday that N.C. Sen. Richard Burr will serve as a co-chairman of the party's platform committee, which outlines the principles and policies for the GOP every four years.
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