PINEHURST - The manicured greens, stately pines and ubiquitous golf carts of this resort town make it an unlikely battleground in the state Republican Party's civil war.

The pastoral setting is misleading. The GOP primary between former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan and his challenger, Joe Boylan, more closely resembles a juke- joint brawl than a country club tiff.

Moore County residents have been inundated with attack ads and mail illustrated with grainy, unflattering photos and featuring allegations of backroom deals and $1 billion tax increases.

One resident called the police on Boylan when he showed up at the resident's door. A complaint alleging illegal corporate contributions has been filed. The locker-room chatter at the country clubs is full of angry words about "Wake County millionaires" and Chicago-style politics.

And last week, some of the biggest guns in the North Carolina Republican Party showed up to ask residents to unseat Morgan, the highest-ranking Republican in the legislature.

Former state GOP chairman Frank Rouse compared Morgan to notorious gangster Al Capone.

Morgan became a GOP lightning rod in 2003 when -- with the House split 60-60 -- he and four other Republicans cut a power-sharing deal with House Democrats. The deal elevated Morgan to co-speaker, a post he shared with Democrat Jim Black. The majority of Republicans -- who were trying to negotiate their own deal with Democrats -- were left out of power.

The feud has festered for three years. Morgan worked with Democrats on a plan that punished some of his GOP enemies when new legislative districts were drawn. Morgan and his allies helped Democrats pass a state budget that did not repeal earlier temporary tax increases.

Morgan's foes have given him and his allies a nickname -- RINOs. It stands for Republicans In Name Only.

As long as Morgan is in power, they say, the GOP cannot regain control of the House.

And so they've gone to war. Although Morgan is the focal point, Republicans are also trying to defeat four other GOP House incumbents. One of those races is in Raleigh, where state Rep. Rick Eddins is being challenged.

Drumming up funds

Party leaders, at a rally in Southern Pines on Thursday, said they don't just want to defeat Morgan. They want to trounce him by such a wide margin that it sends a message to other potential party renegades. The party has given Boylan at least $38,000, campaign records show.

"This effort in Moore County is about taking back the General Assembly of North Carolina," Ferrell Blount, the state GOP chairman, told about 40 people at a barbecue restaurant. "What you are going to do Tuesday is remove the absolute roadblock by removing Richard Morgan."

Helping bankroll the effort has been former state Rep. Art Pope, a Raleigh businessman whose company has been financing mass mailings accusing Morgan of raising taxes and linking him to Black.

Pope's committee reported sending out 217,876 pieces of mail into five House districts attacking GOP incumbents. Morgan says there have been at least four mailings since then -- likely pushing the total to 260,000. Morgan estimates that Pope has mailed 50,000 to 60,000 pieces into his district -- five or six for every likely primary vote.

Pope says he is merely exercising his constitutional right to inform voters about the records of lawmakers.

Morgan has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections, saying Pope has been illegally using corporate contributions.

Morgan supporters say there could be a backlash against the effort to defeat Morgan.

"This resembles Chicago-type politics," said Lorraine Tweed, a Pinehurst councilwoman. "Mr. Blount is breaking every rule. They are pouring money into a primary to defeat a sitting Republican. We should be using the millions to fight Democrats in November."

Outside influence

Bill Thurman, a retired three-star Air Force general, resents the state party's involvement in a local primary.

"If they intend to be the dictator of Republican politics in this state, we are in a sad condition," he said.

John Owen, the Moore County Republican chairman and a retired Army command sergeant major, says he is neutral in the race. But he resents the interference from Raleigh.

"Any resident of Moore County has every right to ask a person who knocks on the door: Where are they from and who they represent?" Owen said. "If you don't wish to participate or answer the question, ask them to leave. If they don't, you have the right to call the sheriff."

After a Morgan supporter complained about Boylan's door-to-door campaigning, Boylan was stopped by a Pinehurst policeman and told he needed a permit to solicit. Boylan later got an apology from the town and now carries the letter with him, in case he is questioned again.

Boylan pounding trail

Boylan, 48, moved to Moore County in 1997, opened three hair salons and became active in Republican politics. Boylan borrowed a 1952 vintage RV and has traveled the county full time since December, knocking on what he estimates are 3,500 doors.

Boylan said he got fed up with Morgan's behavior in Raleigh.

"Those are not the kind of attitudes that represent the values of people here in Moore County," Boylan said. "They certainly don't represent my values."

Morgan, 53, a hefty, slow-talking insurance agent and cattle farmer, is portraying himself as the poor local boy up against the "Wake County millionaire."

But as his opponents note, Morgan is a tough political operator who relishes a good fight and remembers his enemies.

He started the campaign with a huge $710,000 kitty, which he has used for a barrage of TV, radio and newspaper ads. His pollster is Linda Divall, whose client list has included Sen. Elizabeth Dole and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Morgan has earned a lot of chits during his 16 years in the legislature. Last week, he dedicated a dental center for poor children after helping get $177,000 in state funds to expand the clinic and buy new equipment.

Supporters say he has helped keep factory-style hog farms out of Moore County and was instrumental in getting the county's first senior citizens center. There are roads, traffic lights and dozens of other projects that bear his fingerprints.

Morgan, whose office is lined with elephant figurines, trumpets his role as a Republican leader in the '90s. He says he helped eliminate the state sales tax on food and pushed cuts in the state inheritance tax and intangibles tax.

Morgan said the race is about whether North Carolina Republicans have to march lock-step with Pope and the GOP leadership to survive politically.

"There is a bigger battle beyond this election, and it has to do with the heart and soul of the Republican Party in North Carolina," Morgan said. "Win or lose this election, I'm of the opinion that the state Republican Party leadership needs to be changed to welcome people into our party instead of making a rigid application of a litmus test before you are allowed to enter.

"I honest-to-God believe that Ronald Reagan himself could not match up to the litmus test these people apply to any Republican, particularly to a Republican that has spent more than 30 years in the trenches."

But for some, Morgan has worn out his welcome. He barely survived a less organized primary challenge two years ago, winning with 51.5 percent of the vote.

Morgan's ties to Black are hurting him, and an annexation fight has hurt Morgan in the Pinehurst area.

"I hate to give up on the seniority," said Harry Fekkes, a retired computer executive who lives in the Pinewild Country Club section, which may be annexed. "But we have a difficult time recognizing Mr. Morgan as a Republican, let alone a conservative."

Brad McNeill, a heating and air- conditioning installer from Robbins, said Morgan has drifted from Republican values.

"I voted for Richard for years," McNeill said. "He's not the same man I sent up there. People say there ought to be term limits. We have them. We vote."

(News researcher David Raynor contributed to this story.)