A group of Republicans said Friday they have a plan to win control of the N.C. House for the first time in eight years -- play up the scandals surrounding House Speaker Jim Black while pushing issues such as illegal immigration, gay marriage and wasteful spending.

But the Republicans recognized that they first need to show they can work together. At the top of their agenda: a pledge to work as a "collective, unified body."

It's not as easy as it sounds.

As 28 incumbents and 17 GOP challengers at the N.C. House Republican Caucus meeting in Raleigh pledged Friday not to take shots at each other, a bitter feud within the party continues to play out. The infighting hinders the party's chances at taking the chamber -- where Democrats have a 63-57 edge -- despite extensive coverage of scandals tied to Black, a Democrat in his fourth term as speaker.

The House represents the best chance this fall for Republicans to gain control of one of the levers of state government in North Carolina. Democrats hold a bigger edge in the Senate, 29-21, which also is up for re-election. Democratic Gov. Mike Easley's term doesn't end until 2008.

But John Davis, executive director of NCFREE, a business-backed political research group, said Republicans are in danger of losing more seats to Democrats in the House because they did not recruit enough strong candidates. He estimates there are 12 competitive races in the House. Of those, eight are held by Republicans.

"The Democrats have fewer incumbents that are threatened, and frankly, they have an easier time hanging onto the power than the Republicans have to seize the upper hand," Davis said.

House Republicans could help themselves by presenting a unified front, he said. But the animosity between factions led by wealthy Republican activist Art Pope of Raleigh and Speaker Pro Tem Richard Morgan of Moore County makes that difficult. Pope's company funded a political group that sent thousands of critical mailings to the constituents of Morgan and some of his allies in this year's primary, helping cost Morgan his seat.

When Rep. Ed McMahan, a Charlotte Republican and a Pope ally, announced last month that he would not seek re-election to spend more time with his wife, who is battling cancer, Rep. Debbie Clary sent this e-mail message to Morgan: "There is a God! :) ."

Clary, a Cleveland County Republican allied with Morgan, said she intended to say that McMahan should have left the legislature sooner to care for his wife.

But House Republican Whip Mitch Gillespie of McDowell County said it looked like another display of party infighting.

"It hurts us, but it's what some of their constituents want to hear, and it stokes the fire," he said. "But it hurts the Republican Party in general."

Two of the tight races are in Wake County, where Rep. Nelson Dollar faces a challenge from Democrat Greer Beaty in a district that takes in much of Cary, and Russell Capps of Raleigh is opposed by Democrat Ty Harrell in a district that covers part of Raleigh. Beaty's latest campaign finance report shows a $1,000 contribution from former Rep. David Miner, a Cary Republican defeated by Dollar in 2004.

Fading to Black

Gillespie and House Minority Leader Joe Kiser of Lincoln County want the focus to shift to Black. They said Republican candidates will hit Democrats hard with Black's troubles, which include state and federal investigations focusing on Black's assistance to former Rep. Michael Decker, whose switch to the Democratic Party in 2003 helped Black stay in power, and the lobbying work of Black's former political director, Meredith Norris.

"It's my belief that the people of North Carolina are willing to put new leadership in the House of Representatives because of the corruption that has gone on there," Kiser said.

House Republicans also say their platform is more in touch with North Carolina voters. It includes a constitutional ban on using eminent domain to seize property for economic development, income tax cuts for "working families," and an end to counties picking up part of the Medicaid tab.

Black's communications director, Julie Robinson, dismissed the Republicans' attacks as "nasty, negative" campaigning.

Democrats say they made strides on many of the issues Republicans are raising.

"By and large, we've already addressed all of those issues," said House Majority Leader Joe Hackney of Orange County. "We've addressed them in a manner that the vast mainstream of voters in North Carolina will approve of. And anyway, why are they having an agenda after the session's over, instead of before the session like we did?"

House Republicans are expected to have less campaign money than their Democratic counterparts. Gillespie said Republicans are holding roughly 10 fundraisers this month to try to narrow that gap.

Black inadvertently may be helping them in that regard. He typically raises much of the Democrats' war chest, but some Democratic candidates are reluctant to take his money because of the scandal surrounding him.