Free Republic

Should McCain take the threat seriously? North Carolina has emerged as one of the more interesting swing states in the election this year. Last year, few thought it would be in play. It's gone to the Republican Presidential candidate in every election since 1976. It's a state most figured would be safe for the Republicans. Instead, we now have several polls showing the race as very close, as evident by the two latest polls: * Rasmussen 07.15-07.15 - McCain 47%, Obama 45% * SurveyUSA 07.12-07.14 - McCain 50%, Obama 45% We already know that Obama is competing in the state....

In an election for North Carolina Governor today, 07/15/08, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory are effectively tied, according to this latest SurveyUSA election tracking poll conducted exclusively for WTVD-TV in Raleigh. Today, it's Perdue 47%, McCrory 46%, within the survey's 3.8 percentage point margin of sampling error.

AP and Asheville Citizen Times restricted sources, no quoting from articles please. Carl Mumpower is the R candidate running against 1st timer D Congressman Heath Schuler. Mumpower is calling it quits until he sees the republican party start acting like conservatives again.

McCain: Bork Was No "Maverick Jurist" John McCain is planning to be in North Carolina tomorrow where he is scheduled to give a speech on judicial nominations: John McCain’s campaign said Friday that Fred Thompson and Sam Brownback will join the presumptive GOP nominee in North Carolina next week for a major speech on judicial appointments. Both Thompson and Brownback have endorsed the Arizona senator, and both Republicans presented themselves throughout the Republican primary battle as “consistent conservatives,” particularly regarding social issues and judicial appointments. The speech, to be held Tuesday at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, will be just...

All part of his daring master plan to make his name as widely reviled among the right as Ralph Nader’s is among the left. Polls in Georgia and North Carolina over the last two weeks show Mr. Barr winning 8 percent and 6 percent respectively of the presidential vote, and in both cases helping keep likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama within striking distance of Mr. McCain in those states — which, taken together, account for more electoral votes than Florida, Pennsylvania or Ohio… [InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt] Towery said North Carolina and Georgia are exactly the places that Mr....

Raleigh, N.C. — Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory are neck-and-neck in the North Carolina gubernatorial race, according to a new WRAL News poll. A survey of 500 likely voters on Tuesday by the polling firm Rasmussen Reports showed Perdue, the Democratic nominee, with 47 percent of the vote and McCrory, the Republican nominee, with 46 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Perdue erased the slight lead McCrory held immediately after the state's May 6 primary. In a poll conducted then, McCrory held a 45 to 39 percent...

McCain in NC says that he would consider windfall profits for oil companies.

All part of his daring master plan to make his name as widely reviled among the right as Ralph Nader’s is among the left. Polls in Georgia and North Carolina over the last two weeks show Mr. Barr winning 8 percent and 6 percent respectively of the presidential vote, and in both cases helping keep likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama within striking distance of Mr. McCain in those states — which, taken together, account for more electoral votes than Florida, Pennsylvania or Ohio… [InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt] Towery said North Carolina and Georgia are exactly the places that Mr....

Another Republican candidate for governor is working again on getting some support down east. Charlotte Mayor and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Pat McCrory announced this week he was hiring former Carteret County party chairman Bob Pruett to lead his grassroots efforts in 39 eastern counties. Eastern North Carolina voters remain predominantly Democratic, but more have voted Republican in federal races in recent years. But the GOP has had a hard time translating that to governor. In 2004, Republican nominee Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington didn't fare that well as incumbent Democrat Mike Easley – from Southport – racked up big wins there....

The race for Governor in North Carolina begins as a wide open affair with Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue (D) and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R) in a virtual tie according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute. Of the 800 likely general election voters surveyed, 43 percent support Perdue while 42 percent support McCrory. 15 percent of voters were undecided at this point. “The race for Governor is a toss-up at this point. Both candidates begin the general election on equal footing. It will be a race to see who is the first gain to break away...

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and state Senator Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) are in a statistical dead heat according to the latest poll released by the Civitas Institute. Of the 800 likely general election voters surveyed, 45 percent support Senator Dole while 43 percent support her challenger, Democrat Kay Hagan. Twelve percent were undecided. “The national tide against Republican incumbents is definitely hurting Senator Dole right now,” said Francis DeLuca, Executive Director of the Civitas Institute. “It appears some of the cross-over appeal to Democrats and Unaffiliated voters she enjoyed six years ago is eroding.” Click here for full results and...

In an election for United States Senator from North Carolina today, 24 weeks to Election Day, incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole narrowly edges Democrat Kay Hagan, 50% to 46%, according to this SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WTVD-TV in Raleigh.

Democrat Kay Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, easily won the Democratic Primary last Tuesday night and starts the general election campaign essentially tied with incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in North Carolina Hagan attracting 48% of the vote statewide while Dole earns support from 47%. A month ago, Dole led Hagan by thirteen percentage points. Hagan currently leads by three points among women while Dole wins by three among men. Hagan leads among voters under 50 while Dole leads among older voters. Both candidates are popular with the state voters—at least before the campaign...

Edwards To Endorse Obama May 14, 2008 5:04 PM ABC News' Kate Snow, Raelyn Johnson and Rick Klein Report: Former Sen. John Edwards is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidate Wednesday evening, in a dramatic attempt by the Obama campaign to answer concerns regarding Obama's appeal to working-class voters, several senior Democratic sources tell ABC News. Edwards, who ran for president on a platform of eradicating poverty, plans to appear alongside Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., Wednesday evening. The event comes one day after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Obama by 41 points in the West Virginia primary, and Edwards'...

Kay Hagan has pulled within 5 points of Elizabeth Dole, according to the newest survey by Public Policy Polling. She had trailed by 17 points in PPP's most recent look at the race, taken in February. Dole leads Hagan 48-43. The two candidates are closely matched in every part of the state, except the Mountains and the southeastern area of the state, where Dole has a strong advantage.

Here’s an interesting thing that John McCain wrote about judges: “In the shorthand of constitutional discourse, these abuses by the courts fall under the heading of ‘judicial activism.’ But real activism in our country is democratic. Real activists seek to make their case democratically — to win hearts, minds and majorities to their cause. Such people throughout our history have often shown great idealism and done great good. By contrast, activist lawyers and activist judges follow a different method. They want to be spared the inconvenience of campaigns, elections, legislative votes and all of that. They don’t seek to win...

Whether or not the Democratic primary marathon between two path-breaking candidates has been good for the party or the country, it has clearly been good for people like me: political scientists who study voting behavior. We've been given a data gold mine, the results of an experiment that no one intended to conduct. Sen. Barack Obama is the all but certain Democratic nominee, but voting patterns in Indiana and North Carolina show that resistance to a black candidate among some white Democrats remains a serious threat to his chances in November: · As in other recent primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham...

Well, Barack Obama should be one happy guy. His big victory in North Carolina has pretty much locked up the Democratic presidential nomination. Now it is virtually impossible for Hillary Clinton to defeat him in the popular vote or in the elected delegate category. Thus, Obama has the nomination won unless another Rev. Wright crawls into the picture. Spinners who talk about re-votes in Florida and Michigan are dreaming; that will not happen. The Obama campaign would be foolish to participate. They played by the Democratic Party's rules and won. They're not going to sanction do-overs. Also, as Al Sharpton...

Religious voters in Indiana and North Carolina held to familiar patterns in Democratic primary balloting Tuesday, with the controversy over Sen. Barack Obama's relationship with his former pastor deepening the divide. In network exit polling, about the same number of voters in each state said they considered the situation with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. "very important" to their vote as those who said it was "not at all important." And most who gave the issue a heavy weight voted for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), while those who said it was not a factor went for Obama, the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama's march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton - even as their primary marathon staggered on. She added two superdelegates herself in what has become the last big contest as their race winds toward a finish. There are just 217 delegates to be chosen in the final six primaries, and neither candidate can win enough of them to claim final victory. Meanwhile, 265 additional delegates - the party elders and other "superdelegates" - have yet to be claimed, and...

North Carolina voting breakdown: It seems that the risk of Democrat voters coming to their senses has passed. As shown above via CNN, in last night's North Carolina Democratic primary, Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton by more than 13 to 1 among black voters, and Clinton beat Obama by nearly 2 to 1 among white voters. In other words, instead of unifying the races in North Carolina, Obama is polarizing and alienating them, and trading on that division to win the nomination. Black turnout surged and carried Obama to victory by a wide margin. In North Carolina's Forsyth County, for...

I took in the Michelle Obama Show this week in Charlotte, N.C. The wife of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was in town for an election-eve get-out-the-vote rally, to make sure that Obama voters were fired up and ready to go for Tuesday’s primary. Usually, such events are rah-rah, go-team affairs. But Mrs. Obama’s appearance was a little different. It was an hour-long tale of resentment and anger. First, she complained at great length that her husband had been treated unfairly in the Democratic presidential race. Every time he made a move forward, she said, “they” — she never spelled out...

WASHINGTON - Apart from George McGovern, a plainspoken man who knows something about losing elections, not a single Democrat of national stature publicly urged Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday to end her campaign for the White House. They didn't have to. There was no shortage of other ways to signal, suggest, insinuate or instigate the same thing. And certainly no need to apply unseemly pressure to a historic political figure, a woman who has run a grueling race, won millions of votes and drawn uncounted numbers of new Democratic voters to the polls. Instead, many Democrats preferred to say softly...

Rep. Patrick McHenry says the candidates who want his seat in Congress don't want to talk about his voting record. Unfortunately for the North Carolina Republican, there's plenty of other material for them to work with. The contest has gotten so ugly that McHenry's GOP opponent has accused McHenry of putting American lives at risk after he returned from Baghdad - perhaps a new height in primary election squabbling. "It's getting a little testy out there," said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. "Campaigns are modern-day warfare, so you are going to pull out...

1. Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for President. That was clear before yesterday; absent a complete and unforeseen disaster, it’s a certainty now. Democratic superdelegates will soon begin to break in large numbers for Obama. They have been wanting to do so for some time now; what they needed was a plausible trigger to justify publicly supporting Obama. Last night they got it. Yesterday in the voting booths of North Carolina, the last dog died. The Clintons have done a lot of damage to our politics over the years, something which Obama tapped into with great skill. They...

**DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE 8:59 EM ET**: Senator Clinton has made another multi-million dollar loan to her campaign. She gave $6.4M in the past month and will be giving more... Developing...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, with talent on loan from G-d, at the cutting-edge of societal evolution, with half his brain tied behind his back — just to make it fair, the all-knowing, all-caring, all-sensing, all-feeling,...

Hillary Rodham Clinton lost her last best chance to score an upset on Barack Obama's turf Tuesday, putting the Illinois senator a step closer to becoming the country's first black presidential nominee. Obama was the long-standing favorite in North Carolina, and he won with the overwhelming support of black voters there despite an intense effort by Clinton to turn the state around. Obama's victory there was tempered by the fact that Clinton beat him handily among white voters, extending her argument to superdelegates who will decide the nomination that she will be the stronger general-election candidate. ...Eighteen percent of North...

Clinton says she is in it until a nominee is decided. (also a poll on the page if you wish to freep it).

A day after her loss in North Carolina and a disappointing, razor-thin win in Indiana, Hillary Clinton said she was determined to stay in the race. "It's a new day, it's a new state, it's a new election," Clinton told reporters at a press conference in West Virginia on Wednesday. "I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee," Clinton later added, saying she feels "really good" about her performance in Indiana and emphasized that she continues to win groups — white, middle class, middle income voters — essential to winning a general election against John McCain, the presumptive Republican...

The Obama campaign appears poised to begin running its general election campaign after Tuesday night’s primaries seemed unlikely to change the math or the momentum in the Democratic nomination. David Axelrod, the top Obama strategist, told reporters that Barack Obama would compete for the six remaining Democratic contests, where 217 delegates are at stake. But he said that the campaign would soon focus on the general election because likely Republican nominee John McCain had “basically run free for some time now because we’ve been consumed with this.” He added: “I don’t think we’re going to spend time solely in primary...

What began as a night that could have delivered a devastating psychological blow to the Barack Obama campaign has ended with an extraordinary win for Obama, leaving him comfortably poised to ascend to the nomination. Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton easily in North Carolina and, in a true squeaker, lost narrowly in Indiana, a result the Clinton campaign will be unable to overcome. Expectations had cratered for Obama approaching the evening, shifting the likelihood of a large victory in North Carolina to merely the hope for a small one. In Indiana, what began as a potential victory for Obama ended...

WASHINGTON -- Tuesday's voting in Indiana and North Carolina put Hillary Rodham Clinton no closer to overtaking Barack Obama on the path to the Democratic presidential nomination. That now leaves Clinton with one overriding task: to make the path longer. For most of the year, June 3 beckoned as the end of an exhausting nominating calendar, the day that the final states hold primaries to choose between Clinton and Obama. But now, Clinton is preparing to push the contest beyond the voting phase of the process and into the realm of committee meetings and credentialing rules, where her campaign believes...

Tuesday was a decisive night for Barack Obama. Sure, CBS News called Indiana early for Hillary Clinton (a verdict the network may yet regret, with many precincts still outstanding), and if she does hang on there, she will have won just as many states on the day as Obama did. And she will then soldier on to what should be a landslide win in next week’s West Virginia primary, just as she figures to dominate in Kentucky on May 20. But tonight made clear one thing: None of that will matter. Ever since she fell hopelessly behind Obama in the...

McCain 342,959 74% 0 Huckabee 56,641 12% 0 Paul 34,152 7% 0 No Preference 17,996 4% 0 Keyes 12,388 3%

(CNN) — The core of Hillary Clinton’s argument to superdelegates has been her electability – that she is the candidate most likely to beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November. But according to exit polls, voters don’t share that view. In Indiana, Democratic primary voters were equally split over who was most likely to beat McCain, with both drawing 48 percent. And in North Carolina, voters gave the edge to Barack Obama: 54 percent thought he was more likely to win in November, while 40 percent [...]

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton has narrowly won the Indiana Democratic primary. Barack Obama won earlier in North Carolina and declared he was closing in on the presidential nomination. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Barack Obama swept to victory in the North Carolina primary Tuesday night and declared he was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton clung to a narrow Indiana lead, struggling to halt her rival's march into history. "Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic...

Video here.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) presidential aspirations took a severe blow Tuesday night when frontrunner Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) soundly defeated her in North Carolina and the former first lady was unable to counterpunch in Indiana. While Clinton has lost by greater margins and once suffered through a long losing streak, Tuesday’s results were devastating because it took the wind out of the sails of a campaign that had tried to convince voters and superdelegates that the tide had turned in her favor. (snip) Time is now running out for Clinton, who is behind in pledged delegates, total delegates, states...

RALEIGH, N.C. — All four members of North Carolina's House delegation challenged in Tuesday's primary breezed to easy victories.... Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower won a race between three Republicans in the 11th District, and will face Rep. Heath Shuler as the GOP tries to unseat the only freshman in the state's delegation to the U.S. House. Mumpower narrowly defeated former Henderson County GOP chairman Spence Campbell, 48 percent to 42 percent with all precincts reporting. Highlands attorney John Armor had 10 percent.

So Tuesday we've got two Democratic primaries — Indiana and North Carolina. My prediction: I will be drunk. Because this really isn't a battle between two candidates, but a war over two souls: One that belongs to the Democratic Party and the other to Bill Clinton. First, the election will come down to a war between the moonbats (the 'netroot' nut-cakes and body-odored bloggers afflicted with matted hair and cystic acne) and mainstream Democrats. While it's true Hilary and Obama are both chronic lefties, both candidates still must move right — because that's the only way you can win an...

Barack Obama won the North Carolina Democratic primary Tuesday, FOX News projects, preventing Hillary Clinton from staging an election-day upset in the Tar Heel State. Clinton took the lead in Indiana, but it was still too early to call the race. The two states are the last big contests on the primary calendar and together offer the final chance for the candidates to make a serious dent in the delegate counts. Both candidates were faring well among bases usually loyal to their campaigns Tuesday. In Indiana, Clinton’s advantage is based on groups that have supported her in earlier primaries —...

No story yet.

<p>Amid heavy turnout, Republicans appeared to be crossing over in droves today in Marion County and suburban counties, where fewer Republican voters might impact down-ticket primary races.</p>

7:12PM - Operation Chaos update: according to the exits, Republicans accounted for 11% of the vote in Indiana and they went for Clinton over Obama 53 to 45. - TOM BEVAN

Fox News Channel projects Sen. Barack Obama the winner in Tuesday's North Carolina Democrat primary election.

Looks like a bit of vote suppression by some of Clinton’s well-wishers in North Carolina. An outfit called Women’s Voices, Women Vote is calling black people in North Carolina with messages that appear designed to sow confusion about registration procedures and deadlines. The organization claims it’s an innocent mistake, and perhaps it was, except that they’ve apparently been caught up in similar controversies in 10 other states. Each time, the response is, “oopsie!” The non-profit’s board members include Clinton supporters such as Joe Goode, a pollster for Bill’s 1992 campaign and John Podesta, former Clinton White House chief of staff....

The official discussion thread for North Carolina's big day - the first time in twenty years NC has mattered in a Presidential primary. Also, several other hotly contested primary races, determining who will face off in November to replace term limited Governor Mike Easley; and some very interesting Congressional races, among them the three-way 11th district race that includes Free Republic's own John Armor. Races are held under run-off rules; if the top vote-getter doesn't reach 40%, the top two vote-getters will face off in June. North Carolinians, let us know what you see/hear at the polls today. Contested primaries:...

Obama's big disconnect By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW For Barack Obama, closing the deal with Democrat voters has become like herding cats: He just can't get them all lined up and coordinated on his side. This nation has a history of looking closely at its candidates and taking their measure before they vote for them. It is a process that Obama shuns and rival Hillary Clinton thrives on -- and therein lies the problem for Democrats. Obama, who leads both in pledged delegates and in the popular vote, cannot close the gap with lunch-pail Democrats, older voters and (for lack of...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Republican John McCain on Monday dismissed Democratic rival Barack Obama as having zero national security experience. Arriving in North Carolina on the eve of the presidential primary, McCain said there are stark differences between him and the two Democratic candidates, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. But he concentrated on Obama in particular.