As the state’s gubernatorial election heats up, candidates are courting North Carolina college students on the issue of education
With two and a half weeks left in the gubernatorial primaries, the race for the Democratic nomination has boiled down to a battle between former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton. Whichever candidate cinches the nomination will face former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the presumptive Republican gubernatorial candidate, in the general election Nov. 6.
“North Carolina stands at the crossroads. Down one path lies hard work and high achievement. Down the other lurks the dirty politics of divide and conquer, with disastrous results for our prosperity and our posterity,” Etheridge wrote in an email Wednesday.
Over the past year, the Republican-controlled state legislature has passed legislation that has hurt North Carolina voters, Etheridge said, citing policies that have resulted in firing teachers, limiting college curriculum, slashing funding for community colleges and reducing scholarship opportunities for young people.
He noted that it will be especially important for students to vote in the upcoming elections, given the issues revolving around the future of the state’s education.
“I am running for governor because my entire public career has prepared me for this moment, when the educational institutions North Carolina has built over many years are so desperately under attack,” he said. “Public education is the key that unlocks our future. Great schools, great community colleges and great universities form a sound economic policy that will produce new jobs and opportunities for our state.”
Ford Porter, press secretary for the Dalton campaign, said his candidate would be the best choice for the state, given his experience expanding educational opportunities and supporting small businesses.
As a state senator in 2003, Dalton sponsored the Innovative Education Initiative Act, a bill that laid the foundation for North Carolina’s network of colleges that has served as a model for the nation, Porter said. As the current lieutenant governor, Dalton chairs the eLearning commission, a program that works to improve virtual learning for North Carolina students.
“North Carolinians across the state are supporting Walter Dalton for governor because he has the vision and experience to bring people together and move North Carolina forward,” Porter wrote in an email Wednesday. “Dalton understands that great jobs grow from great schools.”
Porter added that as lieutenant governor and chair of the N.C. Senate education committee, Dalton has effectively managed the budget while also reducing class sizes, raising classroom accountability and increasing teacher salary.
“Dalton [fought] for innovative and effective programs that... maximized bang for the taxpayer buck,” he said.
Etheridge said he is concerned by the growing number of professors and researchers that is leaving public universities in the Triangle because budget cuts have dramatically reduced the resources available. Republican policies are undermining the relevance of the Research Triangle Park, he added.
“We have always attracted the brightest and the best to our universities, and we can only do that if we return to the commitment of funding all levels of public education at the levels required to achieve excellence,” Etheridge said.
According to Public Policy Polling, Etheridge is leading Dalton in voter support. The latest polls show Dalton, with 15 percent support, trailing Etheridge by 11 points.
McCrory is polling well ahead of his primary challengers, according to March 25 data from Public Policy Polling. Polls also reflect that if the elections were held today, McCrory would beat any of the Democratic candidates by at least nine points.
McCrory’s campaign could not be reached for comment.
Other gubernatorial candidates include Bruce Blackmon, Gary Dunn, Bill Faison and Gardenia Henley in the Democratic race and Jim Harney, Scott Jones, Jim Mahan, Charles Moss and Paul Wright in the GOP primary. These candidates are polling in the single digits compared to the respective party frontrunners, according to Public Policy Polling.
Junior Derek Mong, who is majoring in political science, said he supports Etheridge.
“Etheridge has a strong record of accomplishment and service to North Carolinians,” he said. “From serving in the state legislature in Raleigh to representing North Carolina’s second congressional district in Washington, D.C., Etheridge’s commitment to the constituents he serves makes him the ideal choice for governor.”
Duke students can vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries in the Old Trinity Room in the West Union Building until May 8.
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