Obama supporter and N.C. Governor Mike Easley just appeared on MSNBC’s the Rachel Maddow Show talking about the gains Obama is making in North Carolina, which has not swung Democrat for a presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Public Policy Polling has Obama up by 6, while Survey USA puts McCain up by 3, which is within the margin of error.
Easley responded to a comment by Maddow that McCain hasn’t visited N.C. since June by saying: “I hope he doesn’t come back.” (Note: When McCain did stop by Wake Forest, he thought he was in West Virginia, said Maddow.)
Registration gains favor Obama 6-1 in the Tar Heel State, and Easley said Obama is looking to get votes not just in “urban/suburban areas, but rural ones. I think he will [get some votes.] …I think if he’s genuine and authentic people will vote for him.”
Easley, who originally stumped for Hillary Clinton in the primary and then saw the light, added that he saw a man wearing camouflage driving a pickup truck with two Obama bumper stickers. What that symbolizes for some conservative voters, Easley said, is “I like John McCain, but I love my job.”
Maddow asked Easley about her (and others’) concerns about the potential for voter suppression in N.C. Easley said state election officials, the Obama campaign, the state Democratic party coordinating committee–and hopefully the GOP–were working to ensure it doesn’t happen. “But this does occur; it’s not a myth,” Easley said.
