By Staff
It’s disturbing news.
A new poll indicates that more than 50 percent of North Carolina voters haven’t decided who they will vote for in the state’s gubernatorial race. With the Republican and Democratic primaries a month away, that’s a sad commentary on voter interest.
In the race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican, 83 percent of Democratic voters are undecided, but more than half of Republican voters have picked a candidate.
Looks like voter apathy, in some quarters, is still alive. The upcoming primaries will determine the candidates who will battle for the governor’s seat in the general elections this fall. North Carolina residents should be more interested in having a say in choosing the person who will serve as governor for four years.
There’s a chance that less than half of the state’s registered voters will mark ballots in the primaries. That means a minority of voters will decide which candidates get a chance to grab the brass ring.
Perhaps the choice of candidates doesn’t appeal to many voters. That’s understandable. Even if the slate of candidates leaves something to be desired, voters should exercise their right to pick the people they believe will best serve them.
As some folks say, if you don’t vote, you shouldn’t complain.
Perhaps the close race between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee has voters paying more attention to them than to the race for governor in North Carolina. As important as it is for voters to pick the next president, it’s just as important, perhaps more so, for them to pick the next governor. After all, what happens in state government likely will have more influence on them than what happens at the federal level.
On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore, state treasurer, are engaged in a rancorous primary battle. It’s a battle voters should be watching with interest. It’s a battle Democrats and some unaffiliated voters should have a say in deciding. As for the other Democratic candidate, retired Air Force Col. Dennis Nielsen, it appears he never made it to the front lines in the fight for the nomination.
As for Republicans, they’ll need to find the person who can best challenge the Democratic nominee for governor. Republicans will choose their gubernatorial nominee from among state Sen. Fred Smith, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, Elbie Powers and Bill Graham.
It’s up to North Carolina voters, as many as possible, to determine what kind of leadership comes from the governor’s office during the next four-year gubernatorial term. Voters, keep this in mind: You get what you vote for — or don’t vote for.
Editor’s note: The poll was conducted for several media organizations. Results were based on 803 telephone interviews conducted March 29 to April 1 with registered voters who said they intended to vote in the May 6 primary, according to a report by The Associated Press. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Questions for Democratic and Republican subgroups have an error margin of 4.9 percentage points.