Candidates critical of a Wake County school diversity policy swept three school board seats in Tuesday's elections and a fourth, crucial seat appears headed to a runoff.

The school board races are nonpartisan, although the Wake County Republican Party endorsed the three candidates who won in those races.

Veteran Democratic consultant Gary Pearce wonders if the strong showing of the "bad guys" is a sign of things to come in next year's Congressional and state legislative election. He said Monday on his Talking About Politics blog that in 1993 Republican Tom Fetzer won the Raleigh mayoral race, the vanguard of what became a big Republican rout.

In 1993, like this year, Democrats had just won the presidential election. They were still celebrating, and they were complacent.

Just like this year, Republicans were angry and motivated. Fetzer (with Carter’s help) found a perfect issue in the downtown civic center. Fetzer ran a modern TV campaign while Democrats ran the familiar old handshake campaign.

It was a sign of worse to come in 1994. And tomorrow may be the canary in the coal mine for 2010.

Wake County Republicans don't want there to be any confusion about a "town hall rally" they are hosting next month.

The rally is a fundraiser for the Wake County GOP, said John Byrnes, a spokesman for the county party. People will not be able to attend for free, like they might expect for a town hall rally, he said.

Tickets to the event will cost $50 per person. For $250 per person, pepole can get into a "VIP Reception" with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, the featured speaker at the event.

The event is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

The Wake County Republican Party is hosting a town hall rally next month featuring U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, is expected to be the featured speaker at a rally Sept. 1 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

GOP candidates for school board and municipal races in Wake County are also expected to attend.

Leave Sarah alone!

That is the message from a Wake County Republican women’s group, who think the post-election sniping at Alaksa Gov. Sarah Palin has been unfair.

The N.C. Federation of Republican Women passed a resolution expressing concern "about the negative treatment of Governor Sarah Palin by persons within our party, especially by McCain/Palin campaign staff, since the election."

The resolution also criticizes "negative media reports about Governor Sarah Palin (which) are insulting to all women who aspire to political office."

It also says Sen. John McCain has not gone far enough in defending his former vice presidential running mate.

At a Wake County Republican Women’s Club luncheon on Thursday, leaflets were distributed urging members to email the McCain campaign and urge him "stand up more forcefully" for Palin. Also distributed was the address for the Palin’s office in Juneau.

The club also has a life-size cardboard cut-out of Palin.

Fred Smith won the Wake County GOP straw poll.

At the President's Day Dinner tonight, the Western Wake Republican Club surveyed paid attendees on their preference in the gubernatorial primary.

Smith won 69 votes, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory won 43 votes, former Supreme Court justice Bob Orr won 28 votes and Salisbury attorney Bill Graham won nine votes.

Graham's showing may have been hurt by the fact that he was the only one of the four who was not in attendance, however.