McCain to campaign today in Wilmington

Republican is working to win over conservative Democrats, but the economy is a challenge

RALEIGH -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain will make his first public appearance in the state since the May primary today, trying to lift his party's prospects in Eastern North Carolina -- a culturally conservative rural region that has been struggling economically.

McCain, who will appear at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, is trying to win over many of the conservative Democrats who have cast their ballots for Republicans in the past. His visit follows a similar one in Greenville last week by his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin.

"The demographics of Eastern North Carolina is that it has a lot of working-class white voters," said Peter Francia, a political science professor at East Carolina University. "Republicans have an opportunity to win those and have proven that in past elections."

President Bush carried the East over Democrat John Kerry by a 60 percent to 40 percent in 2004, according to exit polls.

The East is an area that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton -- and her husband, former President Clinton -- worked heavily in the May Democratic primary. And it is a region where Democrat Barack Obama showed some weakness, even while he was winning the state.

But with the economy struggling, Obama's prospects have much improved, and polls indicate he is now competitive in the region. An average of three polls conducted in the East by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh survey firm, shows a near deadlock -- Obama 47 percent to McCain's 46 percent.

Obama has made five campaign appearances in North Carolina since the primary and has greatly outspent McCain in the state on TV advertising and organizational efforts.

Democrats on Sunday sought to remind voters of the pain in the coastal plains.

"This is an important week," four-term Gov. Jim Hunt of Wilson said in a teleconference for the news media. "I think John McCain is running out of time. His message is not resonating in Eastern North Carolina. The reason is that our families in Eastern North Carolina are hurting. They are losing jobs."

Democratic Congressmen G.K. Butterfield and Bob Etheridge also argued Sunday that McCain would be bad for Eastern North Carolina because he backed Bush's economic policies, did not support the federal tobacco buyout and did not support the most recent farm bill.

"We can't have four more years of the Bush policies," Butterfield said.

Republicans say they expect McCain to do well in a culturally conservative area with a large military influence.

"Obama is the most liberal member of the Senate and the most liberal presidential nominee ever," said Ferrell Blount, a former state GOP chairman from Pitt County. "While McCain is a military person, Obama is not favorably disposed toward the military, in my opinion. It's a pretty clear contrast."