McCrory 35, Smith 23

bkrueger — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:34:33 -0400

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is leading the pack pursuing the Republican nomination for governor, according to the latest survey by Public Policy Polling.

PPP, a Democratic firm, surveyed 744 likely Republican primary voters on March 29-30. It found that 35 percent of those surveyed preferred McCrory, while 23 percent favored state Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton. Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham and former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr both came in at 7 percent.

The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

More than a quarter of those surveyed - 28 percent - are still undecided.

"Pat McCrory has been running the most aggressive media campaign in the Republican primary," said Dean Debnam, president of PPP. "With five weeks left until the primary the other candidats need to start spending some serious money if they want to keep pace."

Fred Smth

McCrory 35, Smith 23