Former Gov. Jim Hunt is robocalling voters too.

An automated call featuring a recording of the four-term governor encourages voters to volunteer for Democratic candidates.

"We all need to work together to win these very close elections and turn North Carolina blue," he says.

Hunt then encourages voters to sign up for the party's Constructing Victory online program, which connects voters with their neighbors to make calls or visits on behalf of Democrats.

Correction: Dome incorrectly interpreted the call as encouraging voters to cast a straight-ticket ballot. We regret the error.

The script after the jump.

   Comments (6)

Eight Democratic pols are campaigning for Barack Obama today.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt; Secretary of State Elaine Marshall; U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, David Price, Brad Miller and G.K. Butterfield; Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and former Agriculture Commissioner Britt Cobb will appear at an event at the Raleigh Farmer's Market at 9:30 a.m.

The event is focusing on the economy and regulation of Wall Street.

It was previously scheduled for late September, but the Obama campaign postponed due to the votes on the bailout bill. 

Democrat Jim Hunt, the former four-term governor, has written members of the North Carolina delegation urging them to back the financial bailout package.

"I am writing to urge you as strongly as I know how to support the bill to build back America's economy — it is not simply about Wall Street," said in an email letter. "I have had numerous business leaders around the state tell me that they are losing their business deals and their companies will be badly hurt."

"In addition, Carolyn and I are facing the loss of our retirement funds — much of which was planned to pay college tuition for our ten grandchildren.  I assure you that we are going to be watching this vote as no other — ever."

Eight Democratic pols will campaign for Barack Obama Monday.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt; Secretary of State Elaine Marshall; U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, David Price, Brad Miller and G.K. Butterfield; Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and former Agriculture Commissioner Britt Cobb will appear at an event at the Raleigh Farmer's Market at 9:30 a.m.

After the event, Hunt, Marshall, Butterfield, Etheridge and Cobb will then travel to Greenville to promote Obama.

Update: The event has been postponed because Congress will be in session.

Former Sen. Jean Carnahan will again tour North Carolina.

The former Missouri senator previously visited the state in April as part of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's primary battle.

On Tuesday, she will stop in Wilson at 10:30 a.m. for an economic community meeting with former First Lady Carolyn Hunt. Carnahan's husband, Mel, and Hunt's husband, Jim, were governors of Missouri and North Carolina during the mid to late 1990s.

She'll then hold another community meeting at Print Products Etc. in Louisburg, and a meet and greet with Durham women at the home of Jean O'Barr.

The trip is part of a recent string of high-profile visits by Obama and his surrogates, including his wife Michelle and running mate Joe Biden. 

Joe Sinsheimer continues to stay involved in Democratic politics.

He and his wife, Toddi Steelman, are hosting a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Larry Kissell. The reception is scheduled for Sept. 28 at their Raleigh home.

Sinsheimer is a former opposition researcher for Democratic campaigns. He retired from full-time politics after the 2004 election, but he has been a vocal advocate for tougher ethics laws and a critic of many Democrats in the N.C. House.

He put pressure on then-Speaker Jim Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat now serving a federal prison sentence for corruption.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt is the headliner for the Kissell fundraiser. Other sponsors include lobbyist Al Adams, public relations executive Ken Eudy, former candidate for treasurer Michael Weisel and lobbyist Leanne Winner. Suggested contribution: $100.

Kissell is running against U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, a Concord Republican.

Francis DeLuca says the Queen City Curse is not the only one.

Although much has been made of the failed attempts of Charlotte mayors to win statewide office, the executive director of the Civitas Institute points out that a number of lieutenant governors have lost their bids for governor.

1976 - Lt. Gov. Jim Hunt won the general election for governor
1984 - Lt. Gov. Jimmy Green lost the Democratic Primary
1988 - Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan lost the general election
1992 - Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner lost the general election
2000 - Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker lost the Democratic Primary
2008 - Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue won the Democratic Primary but is in a close general election

He also notes that while none of the Charlotte politicians won a statewide election, every lieutenant governor won at least won general election.

"Looking at the inability of seasoned statewide politicians to move up to the Governor's mansion leads me to only one conclusion — there is a curse on Lieutenant Governors who try and become governor," he writes.

Former state Sen. J.J. "Monk" Harrington died Wednesday.

Harrington, 89, of Bertie County, served in the Senate from 1963 to 1988 and was a fixture in North Carolina politics. He was one of the state's rural political barons and host of a legendary deer hunt.

"Monk was a giant of a man in the Senate," said former Gov. Jim Hunt. "He was a great big man physically. He was a big man in his influence and friendliness in the state Senate. He was always deeply devoted to his county and to his community and the whole of northeastern North Carolina."

Harrington was best known for the annual deer hunts he held — one of the last of the state's rural political traditions that included the Rat Killing in Pitt County and the Ramp Festival in the mountains.

Every December, Harrington would host hundreds of lawmakers, lobbyists and candidates, who smoked cigars, drank bourbon and ate venison stew to prove they weren't stuffed shirts. (N&O) 

Beverly Perdue took the strongest step away from Gov. Mike Easley yet on Tuesday.

At a debate on WRAL last night, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said several times that she would be a "more hand's on governor" than Easley. 

After being pressed by moderator Pam Saulsby to be specific, Perdue said that she would have handled mental health reform differently.

"If the mental health crisis had happened on my watch, I would have been there," she said. "I would have gone into the institutions."

Still, Perdue was careful not to attack Easley too much, adding that he did "a great job" in the budget crisis of the early 2000s and saying she would be different from Govs. Jim Hunt or Jim Martin as well.

Republican Pat McCrory also said he would have handled mental health differently, but he went after Easley and the "power elite" in Raleigh much more forcefully.

"I would not have decentralized the mental health care system without telling anyone about it and then not taking accountabilty for it," he said. "We've had people die in our mental health care hospitals while people are playing cards."

He included Perdue in his attack, noting that she's claimed to be a health care leader and is "second in command" to Easley.

Perdue responded by saying she worked on "physical health, not mental health," and noting that the lieutenant governor is elected independently of the governor.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue is airing a new ad touting her record in office.

What it says: The ad shows images of Perdue from her early life and her political career. A narrator says, "Bev Perdue. Neither of her parents finished high school, yet she became a teacher and earned a Ph.D. She's spent a lifetime fighting for the middle class — Smart Start for our kids, cutting the sales tax on food, saving our military bases from closure. In these tough times, she'll lead the way — a higher minimum wage, property tax relief for seniors, creating the jobs of the future. Bev Perdue, a governor for us."

The background: Perdue taught in public schools in Georgia and Florida from 1970 to 1974. She received a doctorate in education administration in March 1976 from the University of Florida.

Gov. Jim Hunt and the legislature created Smart Start, a statewide pre-school program, in 1993 when Perdue was in her second term in the state Senate. That year, Hunt appointed her as one of 16 initial members of a board to oversee Smart Start.

Then-Gov. Terry Sanford helped establish a statewide sales tax on food in 1961 to pay higher teacher salaries. It was supposed to be temporary, but it lasted almost four decades. Lawmakers cut it from 4 percent to 3 percent in 1996 and eliminated it two years later.

Perdue was co-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee when lawmakers eliminated the tax. She voted in favor of doing so, but was not a champion of the cause. An unusual coalition of liberal lawmakers and anti-tax Republicans pushed for eliminating the tax, while the Senate’s leadership was less enthusiastic.

"I have long believed it is the wrong item to tax and there should be a total elimination," Perdue told The Charlotte Observer in August 1997. But, she added, "You have to look at fiscal responsibility. The priority, I believe, in addition to cutting the food tax, is to provide adequate funding for teachers and to clean up the environment."

Gov. Mike Easley appointed Perdue, as lieutenant governor, to lead the state's efforts to protect North Carolina’s military bases from closure by the U.S. Department of Defense. The multi-year process is designed to be insulated from political pressure, and it involved work from a large number of people, including the state's congressional delegation.

Perdue has called for increasing the minimum wage in North Carolina by one dollar to $8.25, from the minimum of $7.25 an hour set to take effect in July 2009.

She also says she favors expanding the state’s homestead exemption and freezing the property tax revaluations for seniors who make less than $50,000 and have lived in their homes for at least 20 years.

Is the ad accurate? Yes, though there is no way to quantify how much Perdue helped the state's military bases.

— David Ingram