Economy is No. 1 worry in N.C. poll

Plant closings, health-care reform and gas prices override such issues as the war in Iraq and immigration

LAURINBURG -- After seeing textile plants close all around him, there is only one issue in the election for Robert Bridges -- the economy.

"I worked on a job for 31 years," said Bridges, 58, of Maxton, a former supervisor at WestPoint Stevens. "The plant closed leaving nobody with nothing -- no insurance and no benefits."

Voters such as Bridges are the reason the economy is the leading concern of North Carolina voters more than a month before the primary May 6.

A statewide poll conducted for The News and Observer and other state news organizations, found that the economy was likely to drive the election. Economic issues -- including health-care reform, jobs and rising gas prices -- trump such issues as the war in Iraq.

Among North Carolina voters surveyed, 47 percent said the economy was the top national issue, and 31 percent said it was the top state issue. Economic worries cut across every group, regardless of political party, race, age or gender.

Voters said they were particularly worried about rising gas prices, the cost of health insurance, taxes, the housing slowdown, and the ability to find a good job.

The only striking difference between the major political parties is that Republicans were far more likely to be concerned about illegal immigration into the state than Democrats.

In North Carolina's high-profile Democratic presidential primary race, the candidates sought last week to address the economic worries.

That is why former President Bill Clinton was in Scotland County Friday, telling about 2,000 people that his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, was the most experienced person to get the economy back on track. That is also why Hillary Clinton began a TV ad campaign Friday talking about North Carolina's "reeling" economy.

It also why Sen. Barack Obama has been running TV ads in which he talks about American jobs going overseas and why Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, an Obama ally, was stumping the state last week talking about rising gas prices.

Few counties in North Carolina have been hit as hard as Scotland County, once a cotton-growing and textile-manufacturing center along the South Carolina border about halfway between Raleigh and Charlotte. The February unemployment rate was 9.9 percent for Scotland County, compared with 5.0 percent for the state. The national rate in March was 5.1 percent.

Among the Scotland County plants that closed were Abbott Laboratories in 2002 (974 jobs), Cardinal Brands in 2003 (150 jobs), Charles Craft in 2005 (300 jobs) and Springs Industries in 2004 (200 jobs).

There have been some plant openings and expansions, but they have not offset the job losses.

In interviews with voters who showed up to see Bill Clinton's speech at St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Friday, it was apparent that there is a lot of belt- tightening going on.

Carrie Chatham, 60, a patient- care technician from Laurinburg, said she had cut back the number of visits to her six grandchildren in South Carolina to save on gas. She now also visits the grocery store once a week, rather than several times a week, on the theory she is likely to spend less money.

"Food prices are higher," Chatman said. "Everything is higher. I don't have that much money."

Doug Yongue Jr., 41, a Laurinburg pharmacist, said he sees the effect of the economic downturn in his pharmacy.

"People are having to decide between medicine, food and gas," Yongue said. "They will take their blood pressure medicine every other day because they have to eat and they have to drive."

June Nance, 50, an unemployed educator from Scotland County, said she is learning to live without health insurance, exercising regularly and eating healthfully.