Quick Post for New Years Eve

I had a good segment on WBT in Charlotte with Tara Servatius on Friday afternoon talking about Pat McCrory's potential gubernatorial campaign. We talked about some pretty standard stuff I've been blogging about- in the primary McCrory isn't showing much strength outside the Charlotte tv market, he's going to need a better message than cities are getting the shaft, he has more of a shot at getting Democratic votes in the general election than the other Republican candidates. Basically the bottom line being that he looks like the strongest GOP candidate in the general election, but is his reputation as a moderate going to keep him from being able to get through a primary dominated by conservative voters?

Tara asked me one question though that caught my attention. Are there enough Republican primary voters in the urban areas of North Carolina that the numbers would stack up well for McCrory even if he does poorly in rural North Carolina? I don't think so but I'll take a closer look at the numbers from the 2004 Republican primary later this week.

You can listen to the podcast of my interview here. Choose the Jeff Katz show (Tara was guest hosting) and then the 4 PM hour from Friday. I was on from about 4:05-4:25.

Another thing I'll take a closer look at later this week is the growing perception that the War in Iraq is being eclipsed as the most important political issue in the country. A new AP/Yahoo poll says that's the case. I'll take a look at what issues folks in North Carolina are thinking about and what candidates that might benefit next year.

For now though, Happy New Years!