Gordon Smith's blog

Rasmussen Reports
North Carolina Senate Election
Survey of 500 Likely Voters
May 8, 2008

Dole
47%

Hagan
48%

Discuss.

You've seen the polls. You've read the blogs. You know the skinny about the crux of the biscuit.

Use this thread to lay it all on the line and predict the winners from top to bottom.

Whoever gets the most right wins a cookie.

Click here for the rest.

Which of you Raleigh-smart BlueNCers can explain to this poor mountain boy why the Sheriffs are all hot for Walter Dalton?

AC-T: State Sen. Walter Dalton plans to appear in Asheville Wednesday with Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan and Rutherford County Sheriff Jack Connor to promote his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Dalton’s campaign said he plans to announce endorsements of more than 50 North Carolina sheriffs at the event at 11:30 a.m. at the Buncombe County Courthouse. The press conference follows a three-day meeting of the N.C. Sheriff’s Association in Asheville.

The Hendersonville Times-News has been giving the Republican Congressional race for NC-11 a lot of ink. This article takes all three men to task, but focuses on the absurdist performance art of Carl Mumpower:

The silly season has broken out in the hotly contested Republican primary for the 11th Congressional District.

Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower launched a daylong cyber-fracas on Wednesday with a broadside at sunup ripping his Republican rivals.

He accused retired Army Col. Spence Campbell of Hendersonville of illegally placing roadside signs in a public right of way. He called John Armor an unprincipled lawyer who falsely claimed to have argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.

How little press coverage has Senator Elizabeth Dole received over her six year tenure in the United States Senate? Some North Carolina polling numbers on Dole's voter approval ratings may help answer that question:

Very Favorable - 26%
Somewhat Favorable - 35%

Sixty-one percent of North Carolinians in this poll think that Liddy Dole, who has been a Bush loyalist in the Senate throughout her term, is doing a pretty good job. Contrast that with only 28% of Americans who think the President is doing a good job, and you're left with a fuzzy disconnect that begs the question, "Why do folks look unfavorably upon Bush but look favorably upon a Senator who has been one of his staunchest allies?"

Originally posted at Scrutiny Hooligans, this post touches on each of the three candidates in the race for NC-11's Republican Congressional candidate nomination.

The Wall Street Journal says that's the buzz:

"Meanwhile, North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group -- just one has so far -- before that state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say."

{hat tip to loyal reader and WNCNN aficionado, Sean}

Bill Clinton will be at Asheville High School tomorrow night. Doors open at 8, speech at 9 (10 Bill-time). When the room's full, the doors close.

Next Thursday, March 27th, I'll be one of the panelists asking questions of the three Republican candidates for NC-11's Congressional seat. The debate will take place at Asheville's URTV studios. There will be two other panelists, both, I assume of the Republican persuasion. The 90 minute debate duration means I'll get to ask three, maybe four, questions. I've got a couple cooked up already, and I'm looking for more good ideas.

That's where you come in.