Democrat Walter Dalton of Rutherfordton is running this ad in his race for lieutenant governor against Charlotte Republican Robert Pittenger. The Pittenger campaign says the reference to Charlotte is not playing in versions of the ad running in that city.

What the ad says: Announcer: "Only one candidate has the experience to be Lieutenant Governor." Voices: "Walter Dalton. Walter Dalton. Walter Dalton."

Announcer: "Walter Dalton created thousands of new jobs. Walter Dalton capped the gas tax. Walter Dalton strengthened community colleges.

"Walter has raised the salaries of community college professors, supported workplace development programs, supported the historic community college-university bond that has helped strengthen the community college system. And the list goes on.

"And millionaire Robert Pittenger? He opposed raising the minimum wage. He opposed capping the gas tax. And Pittinger opposed incentives that created new jobs.

"Robert Pittinger. A Charlotte millionaire we just can't afford."

Dalton: "I'm Walter Dalton candidate for Lieutenant Governor and I sponsored this ad."

The ad features pictures of a handful of people repeating Dalton's name and then cuts to photos of Pittenger in front of gas pumps and an unemployment office. It also shows Pittenger in front of a lavish home. It's not his.

The background: Dalton voted for jobs and to cap the gas tax, but didn't pass those measures single-handedly. While he co-chairs the Senate budget committee, the Democratic majority passed those measures.

In 2006, Pittenger did join other Republicans in voting against a bill raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour in North Carolina, the first hike in nine years. Republicans argued that the increase would hurt employers.

The 2006 and 2007 provisions to cap the gas tax were included in budget bills passed largely along party lines. Pittenger and other Republicans objected to the overall bill on principle, which raised state spending by 10 percent. Pittenger and other Republicans supported a separate GOP bill to cap the gas tax. It died in committee.

Pittenger, who has consistently favored lower taxes, has generally opposed using tax dollars for economic incentives.

As for the "millionaire" label, Pittenger and his wife Suzanne have loaned or contributed $2.6 million to his campaign, according to a recent report filed with the state board of elections.

Is the ad accurate? Yes, though Dalton may be overstating his role in Senate accomplishments. And the votes on the gas tax cap were largely partisan votes Republicans that Pittenger opposed for other reasons.

— Jim Morrill

North Carolinians think that Democrats are better able than Republicans to address many of the major issues facing the United States, according to a new poll by Elon University.

The poll of of 797 North Carolina residents from Oct. 27-30 found that North Carolinians have more confidence in Democrats to deal with health care, education, energy independence, the financial crisis, Social Security, taxes and home foreclosures.

There was only one issue - the war in Iraq - where North Carolinians felt more confident about the Republicans.

"As the economy dominates the news, it appears to be benefiting the Democratic candidates," Hunter Bacot, director of the Elon University Poll, said in a statement. "The other side of this equation is that citizens are holding the Republicans accountable for the state of the economy."

The Elon poll does not screen for registered or likely voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

A more detailed breakdown after the jump.

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A new robocall targets Kay Hagan on taxes.

The automated call to North Carolina voters attacks the Democratic Senate candidate for her record as a state Senate budget writer.

"We have the highest tax burden in the Southeast, and guess who's been in charge of North Carolina's money for the past five years?" a woman asks on the call. "Kay Hagan."

As previously noted, North Carolina has a higher tax burden than other states in the Southeast but is only the highest if you define the region very narrowly.

The call is from Americans for Job Security, a pro-business group that opposes labor unions' political activities.

After the jump, the script.

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A robocall is praising Barack Obama for his middle-class tax cut.

Paid for by the N.C. Democratic Party and authorized by the Obama campaign, the minute-long automated call features an Eden textile worker named Louis Dishman.

"During this week's debate, Barack Obama talked about cutting taxes for middle-class families like mine, lowering health care costs and bringing the change we need to Washington," he says.

"John McCain ignored the issues and used the debate to launch false attacks against Barack Obama."

He adds that McCain did not say the words "middle class" in any of the three debates.

After the jump, the script.

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Several small North Carolina business owners said that Democrat Barack Obama's tax proposals would harm their efforts to expand their businesses, provide benefits to their employees, and provide charity to the community.

"Under Barack Obama's redistribution of the wealth, I would have to lower expenses," said Travis White of Sure-Gen Inc. in Wilmington which employes 23 people, Rob Christensen reports. "I would have to drop the benefits I provide."

April Byrd, owner of Solid as a Rock Construction in Charlotte, took exception to Obama's comments that he wanted to "spread the wealth" comparing it to socialism.

"It goes against everything America stands for," Byrd said.

The teleconference was organized by the campaign of Republican John McCain and included former state House Speaker Harold Brubaker of Asheboro and Cindy Morris, owner of Winstar Homes of Raleigh.

Obama is proposing to roll back the Bush tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 per year and increase the capital gains tax from 15 to 20 percent for the same income group.

A new ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee criticizes Democrat Kay Hagan over taxes and the state budget.

Sarah Palin challenged North Carolina voters Thursday to choose Republican Sen. John McCain's promise to balance the federal budget in four years, bring tax relief to every American and drill for offshore oil.

Before an energetic crowd that nearly filled an Elon University baseball field, the vice-presidential candidate on McCain's ticket urged voters to reject what she described as Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's plan to redistribute wealth and raise taxes, Josh Shaffer reports.

"It's the choice between a politician who puts his faith in government," Palin said, "and a true leader who puts his faith in you."

Thousands packed the sun-blazed field in support of Palin, including five students who painted her name on their bare chests, along with a sixth who painted an exclamation point.

The Palin trumpeted McCain's performance in Wednesday night's presidential debate, saying her running-mate will reform the waste that led to the nation's financial crisis.

"John McCain is going to Washington to work for Joe the Plumber," said Palin, referring to the everyman voter who unintentionally became the star of Wednesday's debate.

Palin drew cheers, but the loudest reception came for country music legend Hank Williams Jr., who performed a song he wrote for the campaign to the tune of his hit "Family Tradition."

He wore a Carolina Panthers jersey with his nickname "Bocephus" stenciled on the back. 

The Alliance for North Carolina has a new ad criticizing Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory over his ties to President Bush.

What it says: The ad shows footage of McCrory speaking at the 2004 Republican national convention, portraits of Bush and McCrory and a fake postcard saying "Welcome to Charlotte, The city of high taxes." It begins with footage of McCrory at the 2004 Republican national convention, saying "Cities large and small will benefit by having President Bush leading us for another four years." Narrator: "Pat McCrory supported George Bush's policies that favor the wealthy and helped create this economic crisis. Charlotte now has the highest tax burden of any North Carolina city and as mayor McCrory took a pay raise for himself but opposed raising the minimum wage. Pat McCrory, stop siding with George Bush, support tax breaks for middle-class families."

The background: The ad makes several claims about McCrory's ties to Bush, his record in office and Charlotte taxes.

MCCRORY AND BUSH: In 2000, McCrory was elected president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, a Washington-based advocacy group.

In May of 2003, the group issued a press release quoting McCrory praising a proposal to cut dividends and capital gains taxes being pushed by President Bush.

"What the President's tax cuts will do is enable entrepreneurs and local people to make the best decisions about creating jobs and making needed investments," McCrory said in the release.

The bill was signed into law later that month. A study by the Congressional Budget Office found that it reduced tax rates for people in every income level, but cut rates the most for the highest earners.

At the 2004 Republican national convention in New York City, McCrory spoke on behalf of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, praising the tax cuts, programs to increase homeownership, brownfields legislation and the war on terrorism.

"President Bush has helped cities by bringing jobs back through tax cuts to help small businesses, the economic engines of all metropolitan regions," he said.

CHARLOTTE TAXES: The ad cites a study released in January by the conservative John Locke Foundation's Center for Local Innovation ranked Charlotte as having the highest combined county and municipal tax burden of North Carolina cities and towns with more than 25,000 residents.

The study looked at combined city and county rates, however.

Charlotte's property tax rate is in the middle of other major cities in the state. Greensboro, Durham and Winston-Salem have a higher rate, while Asheville, Raleigh and Wilmington have lower rates.

Over the past 10 years, Charlotte raised the property tax once. McCrory vetoed the increase, but the Democratic majority on the City Council overrode it.

The city's sales tax rate is highest in North Carolina, however.

Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, 91 have a 6.75 percent sales tax and eight have a 7 percent sales tax, according to the N.C. Department of Revenue. Only Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, has a 7.25 percent rate.

The rate is higher because of an additional half-cent sales tax approved by the legislature and local voters in the late 1990s to pay for buses and a newly opened light rail line. McCrory lobbied for the sales tax and the defeat of a referendum to repeal it.

PAY RAISES: As mayor of Charlotte since 1996, McCrory's salary and expenses have risen from $24,800 to $39,900. That's about a 60-percent increase.

Adjusted for inflation, however, it's more like a 20 percent raise.

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 in a vote that McCrory did not join. McCrory did not make any public statements on the raise and did not veto the budget, but his campaign staff said later that he opposed it.

MINIMUM WAGE: McCrory's campaign says he does not completely oppose the minimum wage, but there is evidence that he's not a big fan, either.

According to campaign manager Richard Hudson, McCrory supports raising the state's minimum wage, but only if it is coupled with tax breaks for small businesses or tied to increases in the cost of living.

That is supported by a candidate questionnaire McCrory filled out for the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business group.

On the other hand, McCrory told the Asheville Citizen-Times shortly before the Republican primary that he would "probably oppose" a minimum wage increase because it could cause jobs to be cut.

And he made several provocative statements during a fight over a proposed $9-an-hour minimum salary for city of Charlotte workers in 2001, comparing it to "socialism" in East Germany and stating his opposition to the concept of minimum wages.

"I don't believe politicians should be setting wages in either the private and public sector," he said.

His campaign Web site makes no mention of the minimum wage.

Is it accurate? The ad's claims go beyond the facts that support it. McCrory supported the Bush tax cuts, but it's tenuous to connect them to the foreclosure crisis and problems on Wall Street. The claim that Charlotte has the highest taxes is inaccurate, and the ad overstates McCrory's position on pay raises and the minimum wage.

— Ryan Teague Beckwith

Charlotte is in the middle of adjusted tax rates among major North Carolina cities.

Because counties adjust property values in different years, the property tax rates for cities and towns are not directly comparable on their own.

But the N.C. Department of Revenue calculates an adjusted (or effective) rate based on how long ago the counties reassessed local properties.

According to a list of adjusted tax rates, Greensboro, Durham and Winston-Salem have higher rates than Charlotte, while Asheville, Raleigh and Wilmington were lower.

Below, the 2006-2007 rates per $100 of valuation, adjusted to account for years since most recent revaluation.

Greensboro: .5911
Durham: .5411
Winston-Salem: .4699
Charlotte: .4300
Asheville: .4192
Raleigh: .3674
Wilmington: .3097

As noted previously, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are more closely integrated than other North Carolina cities and counties.

Charlotte's local property tax rate is in the middle of other major N.C. cities.

According to research by the N.C. Department of Revenue, the Queen City has a lower property tax rate than Greensboro, Durham and Winston-Salem, but higher than Raleigh, Asheville and Wilmington.

Property tax rates can be misleading, however, since local property values can differ substantially. A lower tax rate in a posh suburb, for example, could still lead to a higher bill for most taxpayers than a higher tax rate in a lower-valued neighborhood.

Below, the rates per $100 of valuation.

(A $100,000 home, for example, would pay $635 in Greensboro, for example.) 

Greensboro: .6350
Durham: .6130
Winston-Salem: .4900
Charlotte: .4586
Raleigh: .4350
Asheville: .4200
Wilmington: .3000

Another factor complicating the numbers is that Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are more closely integrated than other North Carolina cities and counties.