Burgess, 48, lives in the Western North Carolina town of Woodfin, where he works in government. On Saturday, he told the crowd at a Haywood County GOP event that he would challenge U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the Republican primary.

He said Dole is out of touch and not focused enough on the threat of terrorism.

The speech didn't go over very well. Burgess spoke for longer than the allotted six minutes. Afterward, several people in the audience told him he was too angry and aggressive in his approach.

By Wednesday morning, Burgess told Dome he had decided not to run.

"I was testing the waters," he said, "and I've decided against it."

He said that after he campaigned, he realized he doesn't have the skills to win over a crowd in his own neck of the woods, much less in the rest of the state.

"I'm not a politician," he said. "I'm not skilled in speaking in those terms. I've angered a lot of people, and I shouldn't have done it."

'Solid Republican'

Even before Burgess dropped out, Charlie Cook said things were looking up for Dole.

The editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political analysis newsletter, has moved North Carolina's Senate race from "Likely Republican" to "Solid Republican."

The new rating means the race is "not considered competitive" and is "not likely to become closely contested."

Cook made the change last week -- after Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal announced he was running for the Democratic nomination but before he revealed he is gay.

Neal doing about average

Meanwhile, a new poll shows Neal trailing Dole by 15 percentage points.

The survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling puts Neal at 32 percent and Dole at 47 percent. Twenty-one percent were undecided.

Pollsters say that Neal, a political newcomer, got similar ratings to other Democrats they have tested who did not have statewide recognition.

The poll, of 601 likely general election voters, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.95 percentage points.

Affirmative action's place

The three Republican candidates for governor had very different answers on the issue of affirmative action in higher education when it came up at last weekend's debate at High Point University.

Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr said he opposes admissions decisions based on who students are, but he included "legacy students" whose parents have made donations.

"I think it's fundamentally wrong to say that you get in because you fit a special category," he said.

State Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton said government's role is to "create a level playing field" but not to make admissions decisions based on race or other characteristics.

"It is my opinion that affirmative action no longer has any place in American society," he said.

Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham said affirmative action can give minority students a boost to "go through the door of opportunity."

"If we're going to compete against China and India and the rest of the world, all hands have to be on deck," he said.

Dalton leads SREB panel

State Sen. Walter H. Dalton, a Democrat from Rutherfordton, has been elected chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board's Legislative Advisory Council.

This is the 56th year that the annual conference has brought together legislators from 16 states to develop ways to improve education throughout the South.

The 62-member SREB Legislative Advisory Council is the largest standing advisory group to the board.

SREB is an Atlanta-based nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advises state education leaders on ways to improve education.

Myrick on terrorism

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick will speak on terrorism Friday.

The Charlotte Republican will join Steve Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, for a forum on terrorism at the North Raleigh Hilton.

The event is sponsored by the Civitas Institute.

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