McCrory works eastern N.C.

Region has not been fertile ground for Republican gubernatorial hopefuls

CLINTON -- Republican gubernatorial candidates like Pat McCrory have found eastern North Carolina politically barren.

One GOP gubernatorial candidate after another has stumbled in the sandy soil -- beaten by homegrown Democratic candidates, a Democratic tradition dating to the Civil War, and the state's largest black population.

But during his first extended swing through the coastal plain, McCrory, the Charlotte mayor, showed a populist touch that he hopes will connect with rural and small town voters. On Tuesday he was in New Bern, giving a tough anti-crime talk to a sheriffs' conference after spending much of last week in the region.

In the past, Republican candidates have sometimes been portrayed as out of touch with rural Eastern North Carolina. McCrory, the Charlotte mayor, is seeking to turn the tables by painting the Democratic leadership in Raleigh as elitist.

At a meeting room in a Piggly-Wiggly grocery in Clinton last week, McCrory said his wife -- a reluctant political spouse -- had developed a sudden interest in her husband's being elected governor after hearing about first lady Mary Easley's expensive European jaunts.

"My wife said, 'You know what? Maybe I'm really looking forward to you being governor because I hear the first lady can take trips to Italy by herself," McCrory said. "I said, 'No, it's not going to happen.' "

McCrory talks not only about Mary Easley's trips but about "academic elites" who don't want the community colleges to train electricians and other tradespeople. He warns of the "arrogance" of Raleigh, where he says five or six people run state government almost like "a secret society." And he says state government is not tough enough on criminals or illegal immigrants.

He also provides red meat to conservative voters by tying his opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue to "left wing" groups such as labor unions and trial lawyers, Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and Kay Hagan, the Democratic Senate nominee.

"I believe the ticket of Obama-Hagan-Perdue is far more to the left of the basic values of the people of North Carolina," McCrory told about 50 people last week in Clinton.

One reason North Carolina has had 16 straight years of Democratic governors -- the longest run east of the Mississippi River -- is that Democrats have done well in the east. They have a home field advantage. Former Gov. Jim Hunt is from Wilson County and Gov. Mike Easley is from Rocky Mount. Perdue is from New Bern.

Hunt beat Republican Robin Hayes in Eastern North Carolina by a 54-45 percent margin. Easley beat Republican Richard Vinroot in 2000 by a 50-49 percent margin, and Easley beat Republican Patrick Ballantine in 2004 by a 55-43 percent margin in the east.

Not win, but place

"It's been my theory, you are not going to outright win Down East," said Jack Hawke, who is McCrory's chief strategist. "What you have to do is hold down the Democratic victory in the east."

But the east is increasingly competitive, particularly in coastal and military areas, where there has been a strong influx of people from outside the area.

Republicans who have had success in the east have usually been social conservatives such as former Sen. Jesse Helms, former gubernatorial candidate Jim Gardner or Congressman Walter Jones, who often emphasized an agenda that is sometimes summarized as "guns, God and gays."

But the east has been less friendly to Chamber of Commerce-type conservatives such as McCrory, a former Duke Energy executive and veteran big city mayor.