The Republican and Democratic candidates for governor turned to airplanes, telephones and restaurants Monday for their final day of trying to sway voters.
The Democratic candidates, who spent months knocking each other's record and trustworthiness, spent their last day of campaigning before today's state primary appearing at stops between Raleigh and Charlotte that finally carried a common theme: food.
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue dropped in on soul food and pizza joints. State treasurer Richard Moore sampled barbecue and the K&W Cafeteria.
Perdue visited Mert's Heart and Soul restaurant in uptown Charlotte late Monday morning, shaking hands with diners enjoying baked chicken and salmon cakes. Some said she had their vote. Others were still pondering.
"I'll at least do more research on her now," said diner Tripp Guin, who said he's still thinking. Mert's co-owner Renee Bazzelle praised Perdue's decision a month ago to end her negative ads.
"I want to hear the positive," Bazzelle said, "and what they're going to do for our city, our state, our country."
On a key issue, Perdue refused to take a position: whether Mert's or Price's chicken was the better value.
She ended the day at Mellow Mushroom, a Raleigh pizza bistro with a psychedelic decor reminiscent of 1960s peace activist decorations. Perdue traded hugs and high fives with supporters and a gaggle of young adults, most of whom were campaign volunteers or friends of Perdue's children.
After weeks of debates, position papers and commercials, Anne Reel, a 32-year-old conference producer, made her decision to support Perdue -- based on a handshake and a smile.
"She was very confident and very enthusiastic," Reel said.
Moore started the day with a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit at the state Farmers Market Restaurant in Raleigh with a friendly crowd peppered with supporters and donors.
He spent the afternoon making less choreographed stops at Stamey's Barbecue in Greensboro, for a sandwich with slaw, and a Winston-Salem K&W -- pecan pie.
"I like that idea of tuition for other kids," said K&W employee Bryan Lee Clark, referring to Moore's proposal to give high school graduates two years of free community college tuition.
Moore, who has trailed in most polls, said the expected large turnout, due to the Democratic presidential race, has left campaigns wondering if they reached their target audiences. His visits with voters reinforced the expectation that the presidential campaigns are drowning out the state races.
"You did get the feeling from some folks that, `I'm here to vote in the presidential race,' " Moore said, " `and I'm not quite sure who you are.' "
GOP candidates
On the Republican side of the governor's race, former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr traveled around Western North Carolina visiting supporters and friends.
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory spoke to about 75 supporters in Jamestown, the Guilford County town where he grew up. He handed out store-bought cookies as a two-person band played acoustic music.
In a policy-focused speech, McCrory said his campaign has been valuable regardless of the outcome because he helped draw attention to crime.
"Already, we've struck a chord on an issue that's facing each one of us," he said. "Already, it's been worth it."
He criticized his main GOP rival, state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County, for running a radio ad that McCrory calls misleading. The ad attacks McCrory for cost overruns on the Lynx light-rail project and suggests he would use the governor's office to help Charlotte rather than the state.
"The old-style North Carolina politics needs to now be more visionary," McCrory said.
N.C. Sen. Fred Smith worked the phones and conducted radio interviews.
Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham flew in a private jet from Wilmington to Raleigh, Greenville and Greensboro to meet with local reporters and a handful of supporters at each stop.
"Folks are still shopping and making their final decisions," he said.
Decision 2008
