What a difference a year makes

PPP was in the field for a poll around Martin Luther King Day this time last year. Here's what it found:

-John McCain led Barack Obama 52-38. McCain was winning a full 30% of the Democratic vote and even black voters weren't completely behind Obama- he was earning 73% of their support. Young voters in the state hadn't gotten enthusiastic about Obama yet either. He had a narrow 47-44 edge over McCain with that demogrpahic.

-Elizabeth Dole led Kay Hagan 48-35. Hagan was only getting 59% of the Democratic vote, and Dole even led her 44-37 among voters most concerned about the economy.

-Speaking of the economy, just 39% of North Carolinians named it as their top issue. The war in Iraq was at 22% and immigration was still pulling 9%. By the end of the year the economy was up to 60%, the war was down to 9% and immigration was only a main concern for 3% of the population.

One thing that didn't change: Bev Perdue led Pat McCrory 41-39 in mid-January, and that ended up being almost identical to her final winning margin. Guess the undecideds broke evenly!

It was a wild year.