McCrory: Perdue has gone negative

Pat McCrory says Beverly Perdue has gone negative.

In a campaign press release, the Republican gubernatorial nominee's campaign said that Perdue was distorting his record by "conveniently omitting" his full response to a survey on repealing the lottery in its statements attacking his position.

In the response and at other times, McCrory has said that ending the lottery would be difficult since the money has already been budgeted.

Campaign Manager Richard Hudson said in a statement that Perdue, who pledged at the end of the Democratic primary not to run negative ads, was once again attacking "just like she did with Richard Moore" in the earlier part of the primary.

"These negative attacks are silly and Pat once again renews his call for the lieutenant governor to participate in a series of joint appearances in every part of the state to discuss issues," he said. "North Carolina’s voters deserve better than a candidate who hides behind negative press releases."

Update: Perdue spokesman David Kochman notes that she made the comment about his record " in a speech before approximately 500 people" and not in a press release.

"While Pat McCrory would like different audiences to hear different positions, when answering the Family Policy Council's questionnaire he checked 'YES' – that he thinks the lottery should be repealed – when he could have checked 'no' or 'undecided,'" he adds in an e-mail.