The last Western North Carolina Republican to win the governorship was Jim Holshouser of Boone, who rode the Nixon landslide and GOP ascension to the executive post in 1972.

Robert Orr, who grew up in Hendersonville, hopes to be the next.

The former state Supreme Court justice says he wants to bring Western North Carolina representation to Raleigh.

"The power in this state is totally concentrated on the eastern part of the state," Orr said, pointing out that Gov. Mike Easley is from Rocky Mount, Lieut. Gov. Beverly Perdue is from New Bern and the new Speaker of the House, Joe Hackney, is from Chapel Hill. "Many of us from this part of the state consistently feel the west is being forgotten."

Spence Campbell, chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party, said Orr would find support here, although he's not the only Republican courting Western North Carolina in the gubernatorial race.

"Certainly being from Henderson County, he will receive a lot of support from the Henderson County Republican community," Campbell said. "There are a lot of good candidates. He has an outstanding record. I could get excited about his candidacy."

Hendersonville native and local businessman Hall Waddell grew up with Orr and they both graduated from Hendersonville High School in 1964.

He recently held a reception honoring Orr at The Cedars.

"I can think of nobody that would make better decisions for the people of North Carolina than Bob would," Waddell said. "I'm really excited and think Bob has a great chance."

At least two other Republicans are considering a bid for governor — state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County and Salisbury attorney Bill Graham. Smith has also been heavily courting Western North Carolina Republicans and has visited the area several times in the past year and a half, Campbell said.

Orr isn't the first judge to run for legislative or executive office.

Others include:

• Sam Ervin, from Morganton in Burke County, who served as a state judge in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from 1954 until 1974.

• Dan K. Moore, of Asheville, was a state Supreme Court Judge from 1948 to 1958 and was elected governor as a Democrat in 1964.

• I. Beverly Lake Sr., of Wake Forest, ran for governor unsuccessfully in 1960 and again in 1964. He served as an associate justice on the state Supreme Court for 13 years.

• His son, I. Beverly Lake Jr., was the state's deputy attorney general before being elected to two terms as a Democratic state senator. He switched parties and ran for governor as the Republican nominee in 1980, but was beaten by incumbent Governor Jim Hunt. He was appointed to state Superior Court in 1985 and to state Supreme Court in 1992, but was defeated for election later that year. He was elected associate justice in 1994 and as the court's chief justice in 2000.

• Lacy Thornburg, of Charlotte, was elected to three terms in the state House of Representative from 1961 to 1966. He was appointed, then elected, as a state Superior Court judge from 1967 to 1983. He ran for governor unsuccessfully in 1992 and was appointed U.S. District Court judge for the state's western district, based in Asheville, by President Bill Clinton in 1995.