Солтүстік Каролина Губернаторы Сайлауы 2008

none
related races

The 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the presidential, U. S. Senate, U. S. House elections, Council of State and statewide judicial elections. Democrat Bev Perdue won the election. With a margin of 3.39%, this election was the closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle. Because incumbent Governor Mike Easley was term limited, the open seat race was contested between Democrat Beverly Perdue, Republican Pat McCrory, and Libertarian Michael Munger. Likewise, Democrat Walter H. Dalton, Republican Robert Pittenger and Libertarian Phillip Rhodes vied to replace term limited Lieutenant Governor Perdue.

May 6, 2008 – Primary elections. Oct. 10, 2008 – Last day to register to vote in general election. The statewide syndicated TV program, NC Spin, held debates for both parties' candidates in April.

Moore and Nielsen appeared on the edition of NC Spin broadcast April 13 on most stations, but Perdue declined the invitation to participate. Perdue and Moore met for their final pre primary debate at WRAL TV, which was broadcast on several stations across the state on April 22. On May 6, 2008, Perdue won the Democratic nomination for governor, defeating State Treasurer Moore and Nielsen.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported on January 9, 2008 that McCrory had filed the necessary paperwork with the State Board of Elections to run for governor. He announced that he was running in his hometown of Jamestown on January 15, 2008.

Republican candidates Graham, Orr, and Smith held their first debate on October 20, 2007 at High Point University. The two Democratic candidates held their first debate at the annual conference of the N. C. School Boards Association on Nov. 6, 2007, which hosted a Republican candidates' debate the same day. UNC TV invited the three announced Republican candidates and two announced Democratic candidates to participate in the campaign's first debates (officially called "forums") to air on statewide television. Each forum is intended to focus on a single topic: on Jan. 10, the state's economy; on Feb. 7, health care; and on April 24, education. Video of the forums is available on the UNC TV website. The Republican candidates, now joined by new challenger Pat McCrory, debated on WRAL TV on January 17. The debate was also broadcast on stations in Charlotte and Wilmington. McCrory, Orr, Graham, and Smith met in a televised debate held by WTVI in Charlotte on April 3. Media accounts said that McCrory was the primary target of attacks by his rivals. The same was true at another WRAL TV debate, held on April 15. The final Republican debate before the primary was held in Asheville, and featured the only appearance by Elbie Powers in a debate.

Despite a "national Democratic tide" and Perdue's fundraising edge, McCrory led Perdue at first; Perdue slowly gained with help from Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. Perdue and McCrory remained close, with the two often polling in a statistical tie Prior to May 2008, the North Carolina Libertarian Party and Munger gathered 100,000 signatures of voters in order to qualify to appear on North Carolina's ballot. They, along with the Green Party, sued the state unsuccessfully over the ballot access rules. Munger appeared as one of two keynote speakers at the national Libertarian convention in Denver in May 2008. When Hillary Clinton dropped out of the 2008 presidential election The New York Times mentioned Perdue as a potential pick for Obama's Vice President. Munger called himself "the only liberal in the race." Munger took more socially liberal positions on many issues than Democratic candidate Perdue. "One reason I haven't been allowed in all the debates is that I'm taking votes from the Democrats. Sixty percent of my supporters are voting for Obama. I'll talk about gay marriage, and Perdue isn't, or doesn't want to." While Democratic candidate Perdue took a hard line on illegal immigration similar to that of Republican Pat McCrory, Munger took a position more aligned with Barack Obama. Perdue raised $15 million and ran attack ads against McCrory, criticizing him for not being tough enough on illegal immigration. In October 2008, McCrory received the endorsement of most major newspapers in the state, which typically endorse Democrats. McCrory's candidacy for governor was endorsed by the Raleigh News and Observer, The Charlotte Observer, the Greensboro News & Record, the Winston Salem Journal, and the UNC Chapel Hill Daily Tar Heel. Perdue received the endorsement of actor and director Andy Griffith, who filmed a campaign ad on her behalf. Perdue defeated McCrory and Munger on November 4, 2008 to win the election.

The first general election debate between Perdue and McCrory was a forum at the North Carolina Bar Association meeting in Atlantic Beach on June 21. The first debate between the two that was televised live was conducted by WTVD on August 19. Another televised debate was held by WRAL TV on September 9. Next, McCrory and Perdue met for a debate on education issues at SAS Institute on September 19. The debate was sponsored by business and education groups and was covered by News 14 Carolina. Duke University professor and Libertarian candidate Michael Munger made history as the first third party candidate to participate in a live, televised gubernatorial debate in North Carolina. All three candidates debated for the first time on October 15, in the final debate before the general election. The hour long debate, sponsored by WTVI, WSOC TV and the League of Women Voters, aired in several television markets. Analysts said that McCrory tended to perform better than Perdue in the debates, particularly in "sit down debates that allowed more back and forth between the candidates."