Morse won last week's Democratic primary for the state House seat from District 40 -- despite endorsing his opponent, campaigning against himself and issuing his concession speech the day before the election.

Still, Morse carried 55 percent of the Democratic vote in his Republican-leaning district, which includes Raleigh's northernmost neighborhoods, Wake Forest and Rolesville.

He'll face one-term GOP incumbent Rep. Marilyn Avila on the November ballot. Morse paints Avila's conservative voting record as "out-of-sync" with the district's voters.

Avila is the former chairwoman of the Wake County Republican Party and works as an administrator for the John Locke Foundation.

"Let's face it, I'm an amateur," Morse said Wednesday. "But I think the voters of the 40th district should have a true representative, not one who is bought and paid for by one giant special interest group. My campaign will show that big money will not keep informed voters from seeing the truth."

Avila said she welcomes Morse's challenge.

"I'm just glad to know who I'm running against," Avila said. "I have to give him an A for creativity."

Bow to beauty, brains

Morse said that he spent the last week considering whether to step aside and leave it to the Democratic Party to appoint someone to run in his place. He only filed for office in the first place because it appeared no one was going to challenge Avila.

When he learned another Democrat, Sam Hart Brewer, planned to run, Morse decided to yield to the candidate he described as younger, smarter and better looking.

On the day of the primary, Morse stood outside his polling precinct for 12 hours with his finger-nipping cocker spaniel Kelsey, urging his friends and neighbors to vote for his opponent. Proving that running for elected office can be a fickle affair, Brewer will now be the one working to elect Morse.

Brewer called Morse on Wednesday and offered to transfer the remaining balance of his campaign account, more than $3,000, to his former opponent's campaign. He said he decided to bow to the will of voters but did admit to bit of lingering befuddlement as to just why he lost.

"I was surprised," Brewer said. "Having had my opponent's endorsement, I didn't really feel I had to spend any money on a primary campaign. But apparently that was not a correct assumption."

Not a fishy campaign

Morse said Wednesday that he will accept no campaign contributions or endorsements from PACs or special interest groups.

Other than the cash from Brewer, Morse said he will take only contributions of $100 or less from individuals. He had considered accepting no money at all but was advised that even donated materials had to be legally disclosed as in-kind contributions.

A consultant to the printing industry, Morse even intends to print his own campaign signs on an antique press in his basement using only recycled placards and discontinued inks that would otherwise end up in a hazardous-materials dump.

Since filing for office, Morse has received a stack of candidate questionnaires from pro-life groups, pro-education groups and anti-tax groups offering their conditional support. One actually instructed the candidate to write "yes" by the following 20 questions if he wanted to answer correctly without taking the time to read the prompts. He didn't fill out any of them.

"It made my mailbox smell like dead fish," he said. "You fill out those things and then follow your conscience and vote some other way on a particular bill, they call you a flip-flopper. I guess I could already be called a flip-flopper just for getting back in the race."

He said his political views don't fit neatly into partisan boxes. He considers himself a fiscal conservative and wants to cut taxes. He also wears a peace-symbol tie pin and calls the Iraq war a colossal blunder.

Clean up in Capitol

Morse brought a broom and a shovel with him to an interview at a local Starbucks, where he shared hazelnut coffee with his dog. He said the props signified how he wants to clean up the corrupting influence of special interests on Jones Street. He said he would encourage his supporters to display brooms in their yards or a shovel if an old broom isn't available.

"That's nice, but our politics is a serious business," Avila said of Morse. "We shouldn't take ourselves too seriously, but there are limits."

Avila's campaign finance reports show a number of contributions from individuals, but Morse points to sizable infusions of cash from powerful lobbying groups and political action committees tied for homebuilders, banks, utilities and hospitals.

There was also a $3,000 check from James A. Pope, whose family is well known for underwriting right-wing causes.

"Every person who gives me a contribution is a special interest, whether it's an individual or a group," Avila said.

Morse said he had only one concern about running against his better-financed opponent -- that she "might see the handwriting on the wall" and endorse him.

"I haven't thought up a defense for that yet," Morse deadpanned.