Debate is first for GOP candidates for governor

David Ingram
The Charlotte Observer

October 22, 2007

HIGH POINT - Bill Graham took aim at Democrats in Raleigh. Fred Smith took aim at Graham and at Democrats in Raleigh. Bob Orr said he wants to build consensus.

After months spent touring the state, the three Republicans running for governor in 2008 interacted for the first time Saturday at a debate at High Point University.

And the candidates revealed sharply different campaign styles as they try to break Democrats' 16-year hold on the Executive Mansion.

Graham, a Salisbury lawyer and conservative activist making his first run for public office, called himself the outsider.

"We're stuck. No progress is being made on roads, on schools," he said, criticizing the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. "Higher taxes have come about each and every time they've met."

Smith, a state senator and businessman, went on the attack against Graham, accusing him of embellishing his role in an anti-tax fight and criticizing his lack of experience.

"The governorship is not an entry-level position for public service," Smith said. "I have experience, and that's what I offer you."

Orr, a former state Supreme Court associate justice, emphasized that there are no easy answers to policy questions -- even ones, such as immigration, that raise many voters' passions.

"As part of the process of being a judge, you have to do thorough research, you have to work with your colleagues, to find the right answer -- not the expedient answer," he said.

Graham and Smith have the advantage of personal wealth. But a recent Elon University poll indicated that the race is a dead heat, with each candidate receiving about 11 percent.

The candidates also agree on most issues, though Graham surprised many Saturday by arguing in favor of limited affirmative action for students in the University of North Carolina system.

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

Republicans have not won a North Carolina gubernatorial race since 1988. GOP analysts acknowledge tough odds in 2008. The two Democratic candidates -- State Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue -- have each won statewide office twice and have raised millions.

But Republicans said Saturday they're optimistic. About 150 people attended the 90-minute debate.

"In political debates, the salient fact that candidates must remember is to avoid falling on their faces. And today, all of the candidates avoided falling on their faces. No one lost," said U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican who attended.