U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan backs federally funded stem-cell research.

The Greensboro Democrat said today that she supports President Obama's executive order ending restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research put in place under the Bush administration.

She noted that her mother had a massive stroke in her 50s that led to her death years later.

"While the stroke itself was traumatic enough for her, and my family, watching her struggle through the final years of her life is something that has stuck with me all these years later," Hagan said in a statement.

She said she hopes that stem-cell research will help with diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, strokes and Alzheimer's.

"I applaud this decision and look forward to seeing what kind of treatments North Carolina's research and biotech industries will pursue in this area," she said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue predicted victory today during a visit to the backyard of her opponent, Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

"You can feel the momentum, you can feel the excitement," Perdue told about 80 people at an Uptown Democratic Forum luncheon.

Acknowledging state Sens. Dan Clodfelter and Charlie Dannelly in the audience, the lieutenant governor said, "Get ready, get ready, there's a new sheriff coming to Dodge."

Perdue, who appeared relaxed in front of a supportive audience, also acknowledged that the troubled economy may limit the next governor's choices.

"I wish this campaign had been about education and health care ... but it isn't," she said. "This election is about one thing — the economy. It's the economy stupid."

Asked later by a reporter how she reconciled that with ads accusing McCrory of opposing stem cell research and favoring out-of-state trash in North Carolina, Perdue said those are legitimate issues.

More after the jump.

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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) 

A second version of an ad by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue stresses her support for stem cell research.

What the ad says: Perdue speaks: "I'm Bev Perdue. I'm running for governor and I sponsored this ad." The ad shows images of Sarah Witt, a Raleigh woman who suffers from paralysis because of primary lateral sclerosis. Witt narrates through a voice box: "I used to run marathons, but not anymore. A motor neuron disease has already taken away my ability to walk and to speak. But it hasn't taken away my ability to hope. Hope that stem cell research will let me see my kids grow up. I know Bev Perdue supports stem cell research. She believes in hope, and I believe in her."

The background: Witt says in the ad that she knows Perdue supports stem cell research, but it would have been hard to tell before the commercial was made.

Perdue's campaign could not produce any evidence that she made a public statement regarding stem cell research prior to her campaign for governor.

The campaign's proof that she was engaged in "activity" regarding stem cells included: a September 2006 policy briefing paper that was distributed among Perdue's staff and a copy of the agenda from a meeting two months later of a special legislative committee examining the issue, indicating that a Perdue staffer attended.

N.C. Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat, said Perdue played no role in the drafting of his bill for stem cell research funding that passed the House in 2007, even though the money would come through the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund that she chairs.

Jones said Perdue did call after the House passage, offering to help in the Senate, where she serves as president and presides over the daily session. The bill, which arrived near the end of the legislative session, never got out of committee, and there was no evidence offered of Perdue speaking out, writing a letter or otherwise publicly advocating for the bill.

Is it accurate? Yes.

— Mark Johnson and Ryan Teague Beckwith

An ad by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue attacks Republican rival Pat McCrory over his position on stem cell research.

What the ad says: Perdue speaks: "I'm Bev Perdue. I'm running for governor and I sponsored this ad." The ad shows images of Sarah Witt, a Raleigh woman who suffers from paralysis because of primary lateral sclerosis. Witt narrates through a voice box: "I used to run marathons, but not anymore. A motor neuron disease has already taken away my ability to walk and to speak, but it hasn't taken away my ability to hope. Hope that stem cell research will let me see my kids grow up. So when I hear politicians like Pat McCrory say he wants to ban embryonic stem cell research, I ask myself, how can he be against hope?" The ad ends with text that says "Pat McCrory: More extreme than you think."

The background: Embryonic stem cells are a type of cell derived from the inside of a fertilized egg, typically at a lab where they were prepared for in vitro fertilization.

Scientists consider embryonic stem cells to be a potential source of new treatments for Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and Lou Gehrig's disease, which are currently incurable.

Opponents condemn the research because it requires the destruction of a human embryo, but supporters argue that the embryos used are those that fertility clinics are going to destroy anyway.

Congress banned the use of federal funds for any experiment that destroys a human embryo. Some states have also banned the practice, while others, such as California, are supporting it with state tax dollars.

The state of North Carolina currently does not subsidize embryonic stem cell research or ban it.

During the Republican gubernatorial primary, the N.C. Family Policy Council, a nonpartisan group that advocates for Judeo-Christian values sent a questionnaire to McCrory and other candidates.

One of the questions was about stem cell research: "Should the stem cells of a human embryo be used for research purposes when the act of obtaining the stem cells results in the destruction of the human embryo?"

McCrory answered "no."

He later said that he supports stem cell research using adult cells or amniotic cells, neither of which involve embryos, but scientists contend those forms of research, while promising, have not yielded nearly the same level of progress.

Is it accurate? It's a stretch. Perdue's campaign cannot produce evidence that McCrory ever said he would ban embryonic stem cell research. McCrory strategist Jack Hawke confirmed, only after Dome asked, that McCrory, as governor, would support legislation that prohibited stem cell research in which the embryo was destroyed. Perdue's campaign gambled on that being the answer, but had no proof when they produced the ad.

— Mark Johnson and Ryan Teague Beckwith

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory's latest ad is a response to two ads by Democrat Beverly Perdue over stem cell research.

State Rep. Earl Jones says Beverly Perdue was helpful on a stem cell research bill.

After a recent ad by the Democratic gubernatorial candidate citing her support of embryonic stem cell research, her Republican rival Pat McCrory questioned whether Perdue had a record on the issue.

Jones sponsored a bill in 2007 that would have allowed the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund to make grants on research. The Greensboro News & Record reports that he said Perdue was involved:

Jones said Perdue did take an interest in the issue when it was before the legislature. Jones led a study committee that sought to raise awareness of the issue.

Draft legislation that came from that committee would have put tax money into embryonic stem cell research and laid down guidelines for how it should be conducted. By the time it left the House, the bill would have provided only a framework for stem cell research, but backers say it would have moved their cause forward.

When that bill moved to the Senate, where the lieutenant governor presides, Jones said Perdue reached out.

"She called me directly and she had her staff work with me," Jones said. "Her office was the first one to call when it (the bill) crossed over to the Senate."

The bill died in the Senate, however. The Senate's Democratic leadership referred it to a committee on health care in July of 2007, but it was never acted on during the 2007 or 2008 sessions.

Beverly Perdue says the state should fund embryonic stem cell research.

After Tuesday night's debte, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate spoke to reporters briefly about her views in light of a set of recent TV ads on the issue.

One version of the ad features primary lateral sclerosis sufferer Sarah Witt saying that Republican Pat McCrory is "against hope" for opposing the research.

Perdue said that she came to support it after reading up on the issue and talking with scientists and a friend from Morehead City whose son is a quadriplegic. She noted that the stem cells come from fertilized eggs leftover from in vitro fertilization clinics.

"You know, these stem cells are donated by families," she said. "Otherwise they'd be discarded. I mean, they're there, and it just seems to me — and to Nancy Reagan and to John McCain — that it's a really good use for science if the family agrees to do it voluntarily."

She said she would support spending between $8 million and $10 million on research, with the money coming from the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund, which is funded by the state's tobacco settlement.

Perdue said she and her husband, Bob, will walk Sunday in the Magnificent Mile, a benefit started by Witt, a former marathoner.

"She's trying to raise money, and I'm going to help her do that," she said. 

Pat McCrory says embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary.

After Tuesday night's debate, the Republican gubernatorial candidate spoke to reporters briefly about his views in response to a set of recent TV ads by Democratic rival Beverly Perdue.

One version of the ad features primary lateral sclerosis sufferer Sarah Witt saying that McCrory is "against hope" for his opposition to the research.

But McCrory noted that he supports adult and amniotic stem cell research, which do not use embryos leftover from in vitro fertilization clinics. 

"I think the adult stem cell and the other type of stem cell research is sufficient to meet the medical needs that are required at this point in time," he said. On embryonic stem cell research, he added: "I don't think there's a need to do that."

McCrory said that the topic has not come up in state government and that he can't recall Perdue "ever showing this passion and emotion for it" before and he criticized the ad as the work of a "national operative" coming up with the "topic of the week."

"I think it's very inappropriate to use a person with that severe disability to, I think, misstate what's happening out there right now," he said.

Beverly Perdue is attacking Pat McCrory on stem cell research.

In the ads, Sarah Witt of Raleigh says that she hopes stem cell research will help her recover from paralysis. In one version, she says that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's support of research gives her hope. In a second version, she criticizes McCrory's stance.

"When I hear politicians like Pat McCrory say he wants to ban embryonic stem cell research, I ask myself, how can he be against hope?"

Witt is a magazine reporter and avid marathon runner who developed primary lateral sclerosis in 2004, a disease similar to Lou Gehrig's disease. She helped start the Magnificent Mile, a one-mile race in support of research into a cure.

The ad ends with text that says "Pat McCrory: More extreme than you think."

In a press release, McCrory said he supports adult and amniotic stem cell research.

"My mother had Alzheimer’s and I watched her struggle with the disease for ten years," he said in a statement. "That’s why I support stem cell research at places like Wake Forest University. These scientists offer us hope that one day, families won’t have to suffer as my family has."

Adult and amniotic stem cells do not come from destroyed human embryos.