Democrats tighten grip on legislature

Democrats appeared to be strengthening their hold on the legislature Tuesday night, even as House Speaker Jim Black was clinging to his Mecklenburg County seat by seven votes.

Unofficial returns indicate that Democrats could pick up as many as five seats in the House, which would give them a solid 68-52 majority. Senate Democrats were looking to pick up two seats, which would give them a 31-19 edge.

Democratic leaders attributed the gains to strong candidates with an appealing message of supporting education and creating jobs. Republican leaders said voters upset with the GOP-led federal government showed little sympathy for state Republican candidates.

"It's looking like a tough environment as far as Republicans are concerned," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, a Rockingham County Republican.

One of the few high notes for Republicans came in a coastal Senate district, where Democrat incumbent Pete Bland lost to veteran House Rep. Jean Preston, one of two Senate races in which campaign spending topped $1 million. But three other GOP seats in the Senate appeared to be going Democratic, unofficial returns showed.

North Carolina government had its share of scandal as well, but it revolved around the legislative and campaign activities of one lawmaker -- Black. Incomplete returns showed that Black, one of the state's most powerful officials, had a seven-vote lead over Republican challenger Hal Jordan, an IBM software salesman in his first campaign. With only provisional ballots still to be counted, Black led with 5,298 votes to 5,291 for Jordan.

Jordan said as many as 2,000 votes may not have been counted, and a recount is expected due to the narrow margin.

Ran Coble, executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, said Republicans hurt themselves on the state and national levels. Infighting kept them from mounting contests in several competitive districts, and the anger at the federal government outweighed the scandal surrounding Black.

"It looks like the scandal involving the speaker wasn't the crosscurrent the Republicans needed at the state level to counter the anger toward the president and the war," Coble said.

Black appeared to be the only Democratic incumbent in trouble in the House, while Republican incumbents Gene Wilson in Watauga County and Mark Hollo in Alexander County lost.

Republicans have not controlled either chamber since early 1999, when their four-year reign of the House came to an end.

Democrats have controlled the House by a 63-57 margin and held a 29-21 edge in the Senate. But Democrats turned those modest majorities into a major fundraising advantage.

The state Democratic Party spent roughly five times as much -- $5.8 million -- promoting legislative candidates than the N.C. Republican Party, according to campaign finance reports.

Much of that came from Democratic lawmakers who were making up for the loss of support from Black, who had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in prior elections. Black used most of his $1 million in campaign funds this year to pay for lawyers representing him as he deals with state and federal probes looking into his legislative and campaign activities.

Black faced more than a year of bad press over his involvement in the lottery's creation; his help to former Rep. Michael Decker, the man whose party switch kept Black in power; lobbying work of his former political director Meredith Norris; and contributions from the video poker industry that, until this year, Black had protected from a ban.

Black has not been charged with a crime, but investigations into those activities have led to criminal charges against five people.

Voters told The Charlotte Observer they were aware of Black's problems, but that didn't always translate into a vote for Jordan.

"One, he's a Democrat, and I think he errs to my side. Two, seniority in the state legislature means a great deal," said Gillette Ketner, 51, of Charlotte, a caterer and a registered Democrat.