Perdue steps aside, Dalton steps up

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue announced Thursday she would not be running for re-election this year.

Perdue’s decision didn’t take many by surprise, at least on the state level.

“Anyone paying attention to the political situation could see she was in a tight spot,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger Sr., a Republican from Eden.

Perdue said she’s spent her time in office, and her adult life, fighting for what she believes in and she’s not one to back down from tough fights.

However, Perdue said, in highly partisan times some people are focused more on scoring political points than working together to address the real challenges facing the state.

Republican Representative Bert Jones, whose district includes Rockingham County, said of Perdue’s decision, “It says her approval ratings are very low and she’s far enough behind in the polls that she didn’t see a pathway to victory,”

Jones said he wasn’t surprised by her decision, though she has been saying for months she was running again, but when asked she would sometimes change her mind.

Berger said he saw no indication Perdue wouldn’t run again and she had been raising money for her campaign.

Former representative Nelson Cole, a Democrat, said he was surprised by Perdue’s announcement but those in the Democratic circle had heard rumblings this might happen.

“I was forewarned it could be a possibility,” Cole said.

Berger said it was clear her opposition from the 2008 election, former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, was going to run against her. He said polls put out by Democrats, Republicans and independents all consistently showed Perdue’s job approval rating was around 30 to 35 percent.

Polls also revealed she, in a head-to-head match against McCrory, was always trailing. Berger said a leading media organization named her one of the most endangered governors.

Berger said while many people will have an opinion about why she is stepping aside, she is truly the only person who knows.

“Her political viability was at a low level, and that had to play a part in it,” Berger said.

Meanwhile, while Perdue was stepping back, Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton was stepping up, saying he would throw his hat in the ring.

“Today, I’m announcing that I am running for governor,” Dalton said in a press release. “Lucille and I love this state and we understand tough political races.”

Dalton said he is the only candidate who has run and won statewide and he looks forward to an aggressive campaign.

Cole has worked with Dalton and thinks he’s a great candidate for the job, though there are others who are also fit to be governor.

“We have a stable full of good horses to choose from,” Cole said.

Rumors of other candidates running for office circulated once Perdue made her announcement, but at press time none had made an official decision.