by Jim Kouri - North Carolina's State Senator Fred Smith is poised to capture the GOP nomination for governor, according to a new poll released on Monday.
In a four-way race for the Republican nomination, a Public Research survey revealed that Sen. Smith would garner 33% of "likely Republican primary voters." His closest competition is the popular mayor of Charlotte, Patrick McCrory (26%), who appears to be running poorly with conservative voters.
The two other candidates showed disappointing results with Bill Graham garnering 10% of the vote and Bob Orr achieving a meager 6%. However, in the survey, 25% of the 6,380 likely Republican Primary Voters said they were undecided.
In a two-way race involving the top candidates -- Sen. Smith and Mayor McCrory -- Smith wins with 49.56% to Smith's 34.87%. That survey of 5,220 likely Republican Primary Voters showed only 15.57% undecided voters.
While the next North Carolina governor faces many challenges, one of the most important to fiscal conservatives is the enormous state budget.
"State government spending continues to be out of control with a projected $500 Million revenue shortfall [last year]. The most recent state budget increased spending 9.7%, on top of an 8% increase last year, said Sen. Smith.
"The failure of the Democratic legislature and Governor Easley to prioritize and control spending has resulted in millions of dollars of inefficient expenditures – instead of worthwhile investments like educating our children or building and maintaining roads," he said.
Initially, Republican Party stalwart Bill Graham appeared to be the most viable candidate to run for governor. But news of his meetings with liberal groups -- including the gay-rights political organization, Log Cabin Republicans -- have damaged his self-portrayal as a conservative.
Commenting on the new poll, Smith campaign consultant Karen Rotterman said, “I think this survey shows the impact of a tremendous statewide grassroots effort that Fred Smith has conducted since beginning his race for Governor.”
Senator Smith states that his vision for North Carolina includes controlling government spending, reforming education, protecting private property rights, defending marriage between one man and one woman, protecting children with the strongest possible "Jessica’s Law" and bringing back integrity to state government.
