Richard Moore's praise of Marie Watters Colton apparently paid off.

As Jordan Schrader points out on his Capital Letters blog, the state treasurer suggested renaming the Vance-Aycock Dinner after Colton, the former speaker pro tem from Buncombe County, during a brouhaha over Gov. Charles Brantley Aycock.

According to an Oct. 2 story in the Asheville Citizen-Times, Moore said Aycock doesn't represent Democratic values today:

He said plenty of Western North Carolinians, like the late House Speaker Liston Ramsey, of Madison County, or former Speaker Pro Tem Marie Colton, of Buncombe County, would make better namesakes than Goldsboro native Aycock.

Colton was among a group of former female legislators who endorsed Moore's gubernatorial campaign today.

Current and former women legislators have endorsed Richard Moore.

State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, Reps. Pricey Harrison andd Maggie Jeffus and former Reps. Marie Watters Colton, Ruth Cook and Bertha "B." Merrill Holt have announced their support of the state treasurer's gubernatorial campaign.

In an open letter, six women praise his "steady leadership."

Richard has built this record of achievement through hard work and by surrounding himself with a diverse and highly talented professional team, including the first African American female chief investment officer to run a public pension plan. In fact, more than half of Richard's current leadership team is female, including his chief of staff.

"I am honored that such an outstanding group of women leaders support my candidacy," Moore said in a statement.

He faces Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary.