NEW BERN - The star of the North Carolina GOP convention this weekend wasn't present and isn't even a Republican -- it was Democratic state House Speaker Jim Black.

Everywhere one went during the three-day convention that ends this morning with a prayer breakfast, Republicans were praying that the controversies surrounding Black will help them survive and perhaps even prosper in difficult midterm elections in November.

"The hard-working, decent people of North Carolina are disgusted by so much of what we've seen in the papers, and trust me folks, they're taking notice," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole said at the convention Saturday night. "It is time for a change."

Republicans might need some help if the public opinion polls are to be believed. President Bush, who handily won the state 19 months ago has seen his popularity sharply decline in North Carolina, as it has across the nation, mainly because of the war in Iraq. And with the decline, two of the favorite congressmen of Republican Party activists -- Robin Hayes of Concord and Charles Taylor of Brevard -- have become more vulnerable, according to several polls.

The party also has just come through a bruising primary battle, where the state organization defeated former co-House Speaker Rep. Richard Morgan, the highest-ranking Republican in the legislature because of his close association with Black.

Apparently concerned about party divisions, state GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount barred the news media from covering official convention business -- consideration of resolutions, platform and other matters -- where the 546 delegates had a chance to talk from the convention floor.

Reporters were permitted to hear only speakers officially sanctioned by the party.

Republicans hope to do well in November by stressing issues that they think play well with voters, including restricting illegal immigration, opposing homosexual marriages and cutting taxes, most notably the state gas tax.

"Voters are really upset right now," said state Sen. Andrew Brock, the deputy Senate Republican whip from Mocksville. "A lot of it has to do with illegal immigration. They see it in the schools, they see it in the hospitals and they see it in accidents involving drunk driving. That cuts across Democratic and Republican lines."

But their ace in the hole might be Black, the four-term Democratic speaker from the Charlotte suburbs. His actions and those of his allies have been the subject of multiple investigations revolving around the passage of the state lottery, political fundraising and legislative favors for optometrists and the video poker industry.

A Black mark

Republicans say in recent months, the controversies swirling around Black have metastasized from an inside-the-Beltline dust-up to a full-blown scandal that has the state's attention.

During a recent visit to Southeastern Middle School in Rowan County, Brock said, an eighth-grader "asked what was the relationship between Jim Black and Meredith Norris." Norris was a former Black aide and his unpaid political director, who was hired by a lottery company to help push through the lottery. She was recently charged with a misdemeanor for failing to register as a lobbyist.

"I think the Republican Party will improve this time because the Democrats kept Black," said Willie Ray Starling, a state House candidate from Mount Olive. State Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton, a likely GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2008, said the Black controversy could have far-reaching political effects.

"The crisis in confidence in the speaker's office underlines why we need to change the management in Raleigh both in the General Assembly and in the governor's mansion," Smith said. "We need public officials who perform with honesty, openness and diligence and especially integrity."

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