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It will be McCrory, Perdue in race for governor
Moore, Smith end up in second place in governor's races
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Published: May 7, 2008
RALEIGH
Democrat Beverly Perdue and Republican Pat McCrory emerged from tough primary campaigns last night to run in the general election to be North Carolina's next governor.
Perdue's main opponent, Richard Moore, and McCrory's main opponent, Fred Smith, each conceded the race last night. With 89 of 100 counties reporting, Perdue led the Democratic race 56 percent to 40 percent over Moore, while McCrory led Smith 46 percent to 37 percent.
Perdue, the state's lieutenant governor, rode a wave of momentum after she changed her campaign strategy last month and promised to stop running negative ads.
"Tonight is a victory for our message of opportunity, education and standing up for the middle class," Perdue told supporters at a victory rally.
McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte, was able to hold off Smith, a state senator from Johnston County, who appeared to be gaining strength in polls over the past two weeks.
"I plan to bring a new culture to the state. A culture that understands that quality of life is our No. 1 goal for the state of North Carolina," McCrory said in Charlotte. "We must protect that for future generations."
As candidates, Perdue and McCrory could hardly be more different.
Perdue, who was a powerful state legislator before being elected lieutenant governor, has 22 years of experience in state government. Her campaign platform calls for continuing and expanding many of Easley's signature achievements. Among those are improving access to community colleges and increasing public-health insurance.
McCrory has no experience at the state level, but promotes himself as an outsider who will change the way things run in Raleigh. Last night, he called for a series of statewide debates against Perdue.
Perdue enters the general-election campaign as the favorite, because of her name recognition and her greater fundraising. Perdue raised more than $7 million during the campaign, while McCrory raised just over $1 million.
The Democratic race
Perdue's race against Moore, who is the state treasurer, was intense from the beginning. Both candidates are veterans of state government who amassed large cam r chests.
Their platforms were similar, with each emphasizing the need to improve the economy and expand health care. They offered similar education plans.
The defining moment in the campaign came last month, when Perdue announced that she would stop running negative ads against Moore. Before then, both candidates had attacked each other aggressively, and Moore had been rising in the polls.
After Perdue pulled her negative ads, Moore continued his attacks, but they appear to have backfired.
One Moore ad, for instance, criticized Perdue because a store that she is the co-owner of sold some merchandise containing an image of the Confederate flag. Another one of his ads attacked her for having once voted against a bill to crack down on the Ku Klux Klan.
Perdue quickly responded by rolling out a number of prominent black leaders in North Carolina who attested to Perdue's support for civil rights.
The Republican race
On the Republican side, McCrory and Smith were the clear front-runners in a five-man race that also included Bill Graham, an attorney from Salisbury; Bob Orr, a former justice on the N.C. Supreme Court; and Elbie Powers, a farmer from Franklin.
McCrory enjoyed strong support in and around his home city while Smith had a strong base in the eastern part of the state and among rural voters.
The race went down to the wire, with polls in the final week showing it a dead heat. The Triad, where McCrory and Smith were running almost tied, was seen as a key battleground in the race.
Despite McCrory's reputation as a moderate who crossed party lines in a Democratic-leaning city, in the primary he tried to position himself to the right, taking a hard-line stance on illegal immigration and focusing on the need to crack down on gang-related crime.
He entered the race relatively late, and his campaign relied heavily on television advertising to build support beyond Charlotte. Smith, in contrast, relied on a methodical campaign. He held campaign barbecues in all 100 counties and distributed free copies of his autobiography to voters.
■ James Romoser can be reached in Raleigh at 919- 210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.
■ The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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