Fred Smith won a straw poll in Henderson County.

At the Henderson County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Lunch Saturday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate received 81 votes, the Burlington Times-News reports.

Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, who is from Hendersonville, received 36. Salisbury attorney Bill Graham came in third with 14 votes and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory picked up 10 votes.

A spokesman for Smith said that he also won recent straw polls in Rutherford and Catawba counties.

Voters in the straw poll also picked U.S. Sen. Richard Burr to be John McCain's running mate.

He got 43 votes, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 22, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with 12, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford with 11 and former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney with 10.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Graham's support. 

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has called for conservatives to unite around John McCain.

On Monday, the Cherryville Republican accused former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee of staying in the presidential race too long and being "in there for himself."

But the Washington Post reports that McHenry wasn't always a fan of McCain's:

At a private meeting of conservatives in the House of Representatives last month, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (N.C.) ridiculed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), asking why his fellow right-wing activists "shouldn't be physically ill at the prospects of a President McCain."

In December, McHenry told the Washington Post that he had met with Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. He also said that who would win the nomination process was "about as clear as mud."

In early January, he told the Charlotte Observer that he was uncommitted and would let the "party faithful" decide the nominee.

Bob Orr has endorsed John McCain.

The announcement this afternoon came a day after Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the nomination, leaving McCain with a commanding lead over his remaining rival, Mike Huckabee.

"I believe now is the time to begin the coordinated effort to help make sure that we elect a Republican president," Orr said in a statement.

It is unusual for a gubernatorial candidate to make a presidential endorsement before the primary race is settled because of the political risks usually involved.

Still, Orr had earlier let it be known that he liked Romney.

He donated $500 in October to attend a fundraiser and meet with the former Massachusetts governor, calling him "an exceptionally bright guy, obviously very capable."

Bill Graham wants to let the free market work on health care.

But whether the Republican gubernatorial candidate's proposal for a health-insurance exchange works will depend on how the state manages the system, says a Duke University professor.

Chris Conover, director of Duke University's health policy certificate program, said Graham's proposal borrows a central plank from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's state plan and a federal proposal put forward by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

The proposal calls for an exchange in which private companies would offer insurance plans to businesses, the self-employed and interest groups.

After the jump, three questions from Conover about the plan.

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North Carolina will matter after all.

The tight race for the Democratic presidential nomination makes it almost a mathematical certainty that neither nominee will have been selected by the May 6 primary here.

To a lesser degree, the Republican race could also still be active by then, although John McCain leads Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee by a substantial margin.

Hillary Clinton now has 832 to Barack Obama's 821 delegates, not counting superdelegates. Either needs 2,025 to win the nomination. Even if one candidate won all of the delegates available before May 6, it would not be possible to reach the total necessary.

The attention could bring campaign ads, robocalls and visits by the candidates. (Char-O)

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr wants an apology from Mitt Romney.

The junior U.S. senator from North Carolina rushed to defend Bob Dole—World War II icon and husband of fellow Tar Heel senator Elizabeth Dole—after Romney called Mr. Dole out this morning in an interview on Fox News, Barb Barrett reports.

Bob Dole yesterday compared GOP presidential candidate John McCain favorably to stalwart Jesse Helms in a letter to talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who says McCain isn't conservative enough.

This morning, Romney told Fox News: "Well, it's probably the last person I would have wanted write a letter for me. I think there a lot of folks who tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race. That it's the guy who's next in line, the inevitable choice."

Burr, a strong ally of McCain’s, said Romney's words "divide Republicans."

"It is one thing to attack your campaign opponent, but it is another to insult a well-respected American hero like Bob Dole," Burr said in a statement. "Governor Romney should apologize."

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble is endorsing Mitt Romney.

The Greensboro Republican said today that the former Massachussetts governor has a better background than U.S. Sen. John McCain for handling the economic problems facing the United States.

The Greensboro News & Record reports Coble made the endorsement outside his office.

"By his own admission it's (Romney's) strong suit," he said. "And by Sen. McCain's admission it's not his own strong suit."

Previously, Coble said he liked Romney but would not make an actual endorsement.

Among the state's Republicans, Rep. Virginia Foxx has also endorsed Romney, while Sen. Richard Burr is backing McCain. Rep. Sue Myrick backed Fred Thompson, who has since dropped out.

On the sidelines: U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry, Robin Hayes and Walter Jones and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble is endorsing ... oh, never mind.

The Greensboro Republican is staying on the sidelines of the U.S. presidential race, despite recent rumors that he would be backing Mitt Romney.

That turned out to be just idle chit-chat. 

Hat Tip: Mark Binker 

Could it be his universal health care plan? Or his anti-poverty proposals? Or how he looks in blue jeans?

For whatever reason, a new poll of South Carolinians has found John Edwards as the sexiest presidential candidate, Rob Christensen reports.

Edwards received 16 percent of the sexy vote, well ahead of Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton, who each received 11 percent, according a survey by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh. Barack Obama was a close third with 10 percent.

Some of the other candidates didn’t do so well: John McCain (4 percent) Fred Thompson (3 percent), Mike Huckabee (2 percent) and Rudy Giuliani (1 percent.)

Among Democratic voters there was virtually a three-way tie among Edwards, Clinton and Obama. But Edwards led because of crossover appeal among Republican women. Romney was regarded as the sexiest among Republicans.

The biggest category (41 percent) thought that none of the presidential hopefuls were sexy.

The survey of 1,279 likely primary voters was conducted Jan. 11-12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent.

Jon Ham points out an error in yesterday's Dome (and today's print edition).

We wrote that Mitt Romney was attacking Mike Huckabee for "channeling" John Edwards, then said that Huckabee and Edwards are the only two Southerners left in the race.

"Fred! would beg to differ," Ham writes on his Right Angles blog.

We stand corrected. Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee is indeed still running for the Republican presidential nomination.

In our defense, he is currently polling in fourth place in South Carolina, fifth place in Florida, sixth place in Michigan, sixth place in California, fifth place in New York, and fifth place nationally.

And, in our hearts, he's still the district attorney of New York City.