Nearly half of North Carolinians oppose school vouchers, while a majority favor stem cell research.

According to an Elon University Poll conducted last week, 49.1 percent either disagree or strongly disagree with the use of state vouhers to pay for private or religious school education, while 41.5 percent agree or strongly agree.

When asked their overall opinion on medical research involving stem cells from human embryos, 53.4 percent either support or strongly support it, while 30.8 percent oppose or strongly oppose it.

Overall 51.1 percent said they support or strongly support public funding for stem cell research.

The live survey of 477 adults was conducted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.

Unlike other polls, Elon surveys all North Carolina residents, not just voters or likely voters. (N&O) 

CHARLOTTE - Democrat Beverly Perdue came to Republican Pat McCrory's backyard today and slammed the Charlotte mayor for "whining about crime" while vetoing a move to put more cops on the street.

Perdue also criticized McCrory for supporting school vouchers, which she said would take $1 billion out of public education, and opposing children's health insurance, reports Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer.

"The mayor of Charlotte may be a good guy," she told about 40 people. "He's a good mayor of Charlotte. And I'm asking you to let him remain as mayor."

Perdue referred to McCrory's 2006 veto of a city budget that included money for 70 new police officers. It also included a 9 perent property tax increase, the first hike in 10 years and the reason for McCrory's veto. The Democratic-controlled city council overrode the veto.

Since McCrory was first elected in 1995, the city has added 400 police officers. He's also pushed for more state money for prosecutors.

Perdue has run ads attacking McCrory on vouchers. She says giving state money to families who might choose private schools would drain money from public schools. McCrory has said he supports "selective use" of vouchers for special needs students.

Although she said vouchers would take $1 billion out of public education, her ads say they would cost the state $900 million. That assumes that every student home schooled or enrolled in private school in North Carolina would get a voucher.

The McCrory campaign wasn't immediately available for comment.

Bob Orr says he's a moderate on education.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the former Supreme Court justice said he fits in the mold of moderate Republican leaders like former Sen. Jim Broyhill and Gov. Jim Holshouser.

He does not support tax-funded private school vouchers, a favorite among conservatives, and cites his education-friendly decisions on the Supreme Court.

"When the public understands I'm not trying to undermine the public schools, then the question is, 'Can you give me the chance to improve the public schools?'" he said.

During a visit to a Charlotte charter school, he said the state needs to remove the 100-school limit on charter schools. But he also said that regular public schools need to borrow some of their ideas.

Dennis Nielsen, a retired Air Force colonel from Nashville, is running as a conservative Democrat for governor next year.

Nielsen said he is running on a platform on providing vouchers to allow parents to send their children to private schools, an end to cities’ power to force annexation and tougher enforcement of immigration laws, reports Rob Christensen.

Nielsen is also promising not to raise taxes and to end property taxes for the elderly who make less than $40,000 per year.

Nielsen said he will not try to compete financially with the millions of dollars in campaign contributions likely to be raised by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and state Treasurer Richard Moore.

But he said he offered an alternative to Perdue and Moore.

“I am the only conservative Democrat running,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen, a 59-year-old Iowa native, said he spent 35 years as fighter pilot living around the country. He retired to North Carolina in 2002.

He unsuccessfully ran as a Republican against Democratic state Sen. A.B. Swindell in 2004.

Nielsen said he decided to switch to the Democratic Party because he did not receive any help from the Republican Party when he challenged Swindell and because he thinks a Democrat is likely to be elected governor next year.

Bob Orr has released his answers to a teacher's survey as well.

The former Supreme Court justice's cited his role in Hoke County Board of Education vs. State, which argued that educating children is a "paramount" concern of government, and his previous endorsements by the N.C. Association of Educators.

On the issues, he said he doubts that school vouchers or the lottery are constitutional, but he said he would continue using lottery money for education until a court rules otherwise.

In contrast to the two Democrats, Orr said he would support increasing the cap on charter schools.

He also hedged on whether North Carolina's teacher salaries are competitive, saying he thinks that they are not competitive in poorer counties, but he's not sure that's true everywhere in the state. 

However, he also criticized the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying that though it has done "a pretty good job in pointing out deficiencies," it has not produced "the desired results."

"I do believe that we know better how to address the education challenges in our state than the federal government does, regardless of which party is in power," he wrote. 

Beverly Perdue has released her answers on a teacher's survey as well.

Not surprisingly, the lieutenant governor's responses to the N.C. Association of Educators are the same as those of state Treasurer Richard Moore, her rival in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

She also supports keeping the cap on charter schools, using lottery money for public education and developing a "professional competitive salary" for teachers.

Like Moore, she opposes school vouchers and criticizes the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying it is "significantly under funded and overly bureaucratic."

Perdue's answers draw more heavily on her biography, however. She notes that she was a public school teacher for kindergarten, ninth and 12th grades in Georgia and Florida, led Senate committees on education and received the NCAE's 2004 "Friend of Education" award.

"As a former teacher, and the mother of two boys, I believe no job is more important than the one that teachers do everyday," she wrote.