Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue said today she will hold off on pursuing her campaign pledges for tuition free community colleges and an increase in the minimum wage because of the sluggish economy.

"I don't believe that my first priority and first accomplishment willl be free community college because of the budget (difficulties)," Perdue said in an interview with Dome Wednesday morning. "It's much harder than it was this time last year."

Perdue and legislators writing the next budget expect to face a gap between revenue and planned spending that could be as large as $3 billion.

Neither the free tuition nor the minimum wage was featured prominently in Perdue's campaign until after her Democratic primary opponent, state Treasurer Richard Moore began trumpeting the ideas. During the general election, her Republican opponent, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory ridiculed the idea of free tuition by saying that someone would have to pay the costs.

Minimum wage also has moved to the back burner.

"I look forward to continuing to push for a minimum wage increase," Perdue said, "but my priority this year is to keep people working, and I've got folks who talk to me and are willing to take a less-than-minimum wage job right now just to have a paycheck."

A new ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee attacks U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole on a number of votes.

What it says: The ad shows images of Dole and an Alaskan landscape, including a brown bear. Narrator: "Why is Elizabeth Dole ranked 93rd in effectiveness? She voted for millions in pork, including Alaska's bridge to nowhere. But for North Carolina? She voted with George Bush 92 percent. Against raising the minimum wage time after time. Against helping families struggling to keep their homes. For the largest cut ever in student loans. Elizabeth Dole, fighting for ... Alaska? Definitely out of touch with North Carolina. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising."

The background: The ad makes several claims about Dole's voting record.

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens requested an earmark in the 2006 budget for the proposed $398 million Gravina Island Bridge, nicknamed the "Bridge to Nowhere" by detractors because it serves an island with just 50 residents.

In October of 2005, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn proposed an amendment to the bill that would have shifted $75 million from the bridge and another project in Alaska to the rebuilding of a bridge destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The amendment failed, 15-82, with Dole voting against it.

Congress later stripped the earmark, but gave the state of Alaska an equivalent amount of money for any use it considered appropriate.

MINIMUM WAGE: Starting in 2005, Senate Democrats attempted to raise the federal minimum wage.

In March, Sen. Ted Kennedy proposed raising it by $2.10 over the following 26 months. As a counterproposal, Republican Sen. Rick Santorum proposed raising it by $1.10 over 18 months while exempting more businesses.

Either would have been the first increase in the federal minimum wage since 1997.

The amendments both came on a bill overhauling bankruptcy regulations. Both proposals could have complicated efforts to pass the overhaul, since House leaders had said they would only consider the bill if the Senate did not add unrelated amendments.

The Kennedy amendment failed, 46-49, while the Santorum amendment failed, 38-61. Dole voted against the first amendment, but for the second.

In October, Senate Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to raise the minimum wage by $1.10 an hour over 18 months. Dole voted against that raise as well.

After Democrats gained control of the Senate in 2006, they pushed the minimum wage hike again. Dole voted for the first, which was never signed into law. The wage hike was later included in an emergency spending bill that Dole voted for as well.

ENERGY ASSISTANCE: The fine print on the section of the ad on struggling families cites a vote on home energy asistance.

In 2006, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine proposed spending an additional $1 billion in the 2007 budget for one-time assistance to people who need help paying their heating and cooling bills.

Dole voted against an amendment on the measure, which later passed by a voice vote.

Spokesman Dan McLagan said Dole objected to how the money would be spent.

"The vast majority of the package was aimed at cold-weather states," he said. "All this money was going to go to northern states for a winter that had been mild, versus southern states that had a hot summer."

In 2008, Dole successfully pushed another measure for more spending on the same energy assistance program. She received an award for her efforts from the National Fuel Funds Network, a nonprofit coalition of energy assistance providers.

CREDIT COUNSELING: In April, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray proposed spending another $100 million on foreclosure counseling this year.

At the time, Congress had already budgeted $180 million for credit counselors.

Murray argued that spending more to prevent homeowners from going into foreclosure was "a smart investment," although it would require suspending budget rules that require any new spending to be matched by an equal cut somewhere else.

Senate Republicans argued that they needed to investigate whether the money was being spent appropriately before budgeting more. If more was spent, they argued it should be done through the regular budget process, not an amendment.

The amendment failed 44-40, with Dole voting against it.

PREVIOUS CLAIMS: Washington-based news service Congressional Quarterly compiles yearly figures for how often senators vote with the stated position of the president. The 92 percent figure comes from an average of the yearly scores for Dole, though Congressional Quarterly researchers says that method is inaccurate. Based on its overall score through August, they say the correct figure for Dole is 88 percent. The effectiveness ranking comes from an annual study conducted by the data service Knowlegis.

Is it accurate? Some of the claims are true: Dole voted against a measure to strip funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere," her effectiveness ranking was 93rd, and she voted against more credit counseling for families facing foreclosure. Two other claims are missing context: She voted against raising the minimum wage and providing more energy assistance, though she later voted for both. In addition, the vote on energy assistance had little to do with foreclosure. The figure for her votes with President Bush is off by a few percentage points.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole voted for two other minimum wage increases.

In February of 2007, the Senate voted on a House bill which would have increased the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years. The hike was coupled with small business tax cuts opposed by some Democrats, who preferred a clean vote.

That bill passed 94-3, with Dole voting for it. It was never signed into law, however.

In May of that same year, the minimum wage increase was included in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill that included almost $100 billion in spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That time, some Republicans complained that it was paired with war funding.

The first hike in a decade, it raised the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in three stages over the following two years.

The approprations bill passed 80-14, with Dole voting for it. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole voted for and against two other proposed minimum wage hikes in 2005.

In March of that year, Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy proposed raising the federal minimum wage by $2.10 over the following 26 months, while Republican Sen. Rick Santorum proposed raising it by $1.10 over 18 months while exempting more businesses.

The amendments both came on a bill overhauling bankruptcy regulations.

The Kennedy amendment failed, 46-49, while the Santorum amendment failed, 38-61. Dole voted against the first amendment, but for the second.

Both proposals could have complicated efforts to pass the bankruptcy overhaul, since House leaders had said they would only consider the bill if it passed the Senate without any unrelated amendments.

According to The Boston Globe, Senate Republican leaders didn't want either proposal to pass — Santorum was quoted saying as much — but some senators wanted a chance to show their support for a more modest increase.

A recent ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee criticizes Dole for opposing minimum wage increases.

It cites her opposition to the Kennedy amendment, but not her support for the Santorum amendment.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole voted against a hike in the federal minimum wage in 2005.

In October of that year, Sen. Ted Kennedy proposed raising the minimum wage by $1.10 an hour over 18 months — from then $5.15 per hour to $6.25 per hour.

It would have been the first increase in the federal minimum wage since 1997.

Kennedy proposed the raise as an amendment to an Appropriations bill. The amendment, which required a three-fifths majority to pass, failed on a 47-51 vote.

Dole voted against the amendment.

A recent ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee criticizes Dole for her vote.

"She voted ... against raising the minimum wage time after time," it says.

The Alliance for North Carolina, a Democratic group funded by the National Education Association, the Democratic Governors Association and the Service Employees International Union, is airing a TV ad attacking Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory's record.

What it says: The ad shows blue-collar workers, the Eiffel Tower and piles of cash alongside pictures of McCrory. "Will Pat McCrory’s policies move North Carolina forward? Pat McCrory opposes raising the minimum wage for North Carolina workers, but McCrory supports pay raises for politicians, including himself. And Pat McCrory supports more perks for politicians. He even accepted free travel to Paris for himself and his wife. Call Pat McCrory. Tell him North Carolina needs higher wages and more jobs, not perks for politicians. Go to alliancefornorthcarolina.com and read our economic plan to keep North Carolina on the move." At one point, the text on the screen reads: "Pat McCrory Opposes Raising the State Minimum Wage Without Conditions."

The background: Seeking to boost its trans-Atlantic business, U.S. Airways added nonstop flights from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Paris in 2000.

Then-Gov. Jim Hunt used the occasion to lead an 11-day trade mission to France and Germany with 31 other state officials, including Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and his wife, Ann.

The airline paid for Hunt, a state trooper and the McCrorys to fly first-class to Paris. The mayor and his wife then paid their own way to Italy for a vacation, and the airline flew them back from Rome to Charlotte for free.

At the time, McCrory noted that the return flight from Rome was the same value as the trip over to Paris, so his vacation did not add any additional cost.

The state paid for airfare, lodging and meals for state officials who accompanied Hunt and McCrory. The Carolinas Partnership, an economic development agency in Eastern North Carolina, paid for members of the business community on the trade mission. Two state legislators on the trip paid their own way.

McCrory has made broad statements of opposition to the minimum wage as recently as May, but he has recently said that he would support an increase if coupled with tax breaks for small businesses or tied to increases in the cost of living.

The Charlotte mayor does not typically vote on the city budget, which includes pay raises, but he can veto it. If he does, it takes seven out of 11 votes from the City Council to override his veto.

In 1998, McCrory broke a tie, voting with the City Council's Republicans to overturn a pay raise for city leaders that would have boosted his own salary by several thousand dollars.

This year, the City Council narrowly approved a pay raise for members and the mayor. McCrory did not make any public statements on the raise and did not veto the budget, but his campaign staff said recently that he opposed it.

Is the ad accurate? Mostly. The narration overstates McCrory's current position on the minimum wage, although the text on the screen correctly notes he would add conditions. The ad overstates McCrory's support for pay raises for city officials. McCrory did accept free tickets to Paris.

The Alliance for North Carolina has released an economic plan.

The 527 organization, which is running an ad attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, issued a 12-point plan to improve the North Carolina economy today.

For the most part, the proposals are in line with Democratic candidate Beverly Perdue's platform, though the Alliance's goals are pitched at a more general level.

Among the points of agreement:

Minimum Wage: The Alliance calls for raising the minimum wage "to a level that better enables workers to fully provide for their families." Perdue has called for raising it by a dollar.

Military Jobs: The Alliance calls for expanding the state's "economic leadership" in military jobs. Perdue helped create a nonprofit that lobbies for defense spending.

Free Community College: The Alliance calls for making community college free. Perdue has proposed waiving tuition for graduates of state high schools.

"We hope that public officials and policy makers throughout North Carolina will discuss and comment on our 12-point economic plan," said Alliance spokesman Scott Falmlen in a statement. "Our goal is to stimulate discussion — pro and con — and we encourage people everywhere in the state to join this discussion."

The full plan after the jump.

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How can a candidate shift positions without drawing attention?

One answer: Create a private paper trail.

Both Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory and Democratic rival Beverly Perdue recently modified their positions on a controversial issue by giving a document to an ally that could remain offstage until needed.

After taking a hard line against raising the minimum wage, McCrory filled out a survey for the National Federation of Independent Business saying that he would support it if coupled with tax breaks for small businesses.

The NFIB's candidate questionnaires are confidential, but McCrory's campaign released the survey after a TV ad attacked him on the minimum wage.

Meantime, Perdue said she was "100 percent opposed" to offshore drilling off the coast of North Carolina, then later wrote a letter to U.S. Rep. David Price saying she would make a decision as governor after convening a panel of experts.

Although a letter from the lieutenant governor to a Congressman is a public record, reporters and environmental groups would not know to ask for it.

She later cited the letter in response to an ad from McCrory. 

An Asheville reporter says Pat McCrory told him he opposed a minimum-wage increase earlier this year.

An article written by Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Jordan Schrader on May 4 noted that the Republican gubernatorial nominee said he would "probably oppose" a minimum wage hike.

The article was cited in a TV ad attacking McCrory, who argued the ad was inaccurate.

On his Capital Letters blog, Schrader has posted the full quote from his interview with McCrory:

"For right now, I'd probably keep it the way it is. I think the market conditions, especially during recessionary times, must protect the jobs, not lose the jobs."

"I want to encourage employers to give summer jobs, not discourage them, especially to our at-risk youth."

Schrader writes that the ad "oversimplies his position" but is "reasonably accurate."