The Republican gubernatorial candidate does not need to offer a reward this year.
In 2000, Richard Vinroot offered $500 for the best photo of then-Attorney General Mike Easley and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore together before a debate at Wake Forest University.
Easley had passed up two previous opportunities to campaign with Gore, meeting with him privately during a ride to the airport instead.
But this year, Beverly Perdue has taken her own photo with Barack Obama and put it front and center on a mailer sent to black households.
Obama spokesman Dan Leistikow said he took pictures with both Perdue and rival Richard Moore during a recent visit. (The photo, which suffers from dark shadows and some forehead glare, does not look professionally staged.)
"It's up to them to use the picture how they see fit," he said. "He's honored to have the support of both candidates."
Leistikow argued that the photos are a sign that North Carolina may be changing.
"Having a candidate like Senator Obama at the top of the ticket — who has proven that he can bring new people into the process and changed the equation for the Democratic Party — is something that the people in North Carolina recognize," he said.
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