The publisher of Bill Graham's hometown paper sure does like him.

In a column today, the Dunn Daily Record's Hoover Adams writes that the Republican gubernatorial candidate received "warm and enthusiastic support" during a recent visit, coordinated by Dunn City Councilman Billy Ray Godwin.

Mr. Godwin said he hadn't seen the final figures on how much money was raised in Dunn for Mr. Graham's campaign, but the big smile on Mr. Graham's face as he left to fly home was an indication that he was well pleased with the turnout of his hometown supporters and the amount of money raised.

Adams has made no secret of his support for Graham in the past.

A new study claims North Carolina's editorial pages skew conservative.

The study by Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog group, is based on syndicated columns run in the state's papers.

According to the survey, the Asheboro Courier-Tribune, The Dunn Daily Record, The Shelby Star and the Wilson Daily Times have the most conservative Op-Ed pages in the state. Each runs 100 percent conservatives, by Media Matters' calculation.

On the other side, only the Laurinburg Exchange runs 100 percent progressives, the group says.

The N&O runs 44 percent conservative to 33 percent progressive, while the Charlotte Observer breaks 46 percent conservative to 38 percent progressive. (The rest are centrist.)

As Laura Leslie points out on Hunter's Tavern, however, the study has some flaws, most notably that it lists John Locke Foundation head John Hood as a centrist.

The Dunn Daily Record publisher thinks Bill Graham's the one.

In a column today, Hoover Adams says he likes the Salisbury attorney, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Adams, who founded the paper in 1950, says Graham "has the best campaign issues" — capping the gasoline tax and doing something about illegal immigration. He's happy that Graham is a conservative who opposes corporate incentives.

He's also proud that Graham grew up in Dunn. And that's not all:

He is young and handsome, too, and that counts more than many people might think.

No word on whether Adams think Fred Smith and Bob Orr — not to mention Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue — are also attractive.