In governor's race, Perdue has early edge, poll finds

Here's the early line on the 2008 governor's race: Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue leads the Democrats, and the Republican primary is wide open.

That's according to a new statewide poll conducted for the Civitas Institute, a conservative Raleigh-based think tank.

Perdue was favored by 24 percent of the Democrats surveyed, while state Treasurer Richard Moore was favored by 13 percent. About 1 percent liked state Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County, while 54 percent said they were not sure.

On the Republican side, few people have heard of the likely candidates. Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham was supported by 7 percent, while state Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton had the backing of 2 percent.

Two past Republican gubernatorial nominees, U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes (15 percent) and former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington (11 percent), fared better. Fifty-seven percent of the voters said they were uncertain.

In the GOP presidential primary, there are three likely candidates with significant support. They are former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (27 percent), Arizona Sen. John McCain (26 percent) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (14 percent). Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had the support of 5 percent.

The survey did not pose the question for the Democratic presidential candidates.

The poll of 800 people who voted Nov. 7 was conducted Nov. 9-13. The survey by TeleOpinion Research of Alexandria, Va., has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. But the margin of error was 4.5 percentage points on the Democratic primary question and 5 percentage points for the Republican Party primary question because only members of each party and Independents were polled.

Returning the money

State Rep. Pricey Harrison of Guilford County has done more than try to distance herself from House Speaker Jim Black.

While campaigning this fall, she said she was aiming to repay the more than $100,000 that Black -- through state Democratic channels -- raised for her campaign.

Harrison, a Democrat who just won her second term, said her ideas about repaying are more about "good government" than animosity for Black.

"There are folks who don't like the system of taking money from the parties and so on -- that it means you can't be independent or couldn't think independently," she said.

Her campaign reports show she has given about $25,000 to the state House caucus.

Harrison said she did not take money from the caucus for her race this year.

"I wasn't taking, and I gave back," she said. "I hope that can continue."

A sage of Congress

Political science professor David Price is one of the "sages" congressional Democrats should rely on next year if the party wants to maintain its majority, according to the magazine National Journal.

Price, a congressman from Chapel Hill, won praise for his push for lobbying reform and making House floor debates more open.

"Colleagues listen to [Price] simply because he is smart," the magazine wrote.