In a campaign dominated by education and the environment, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Mike Easley and Dennis Wicker are struggling to differentiate themselves before the crucial May 2 primary election.
"One's taller than the other," said Thad Beyle, Pearsall professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "I didn't find that there was much difference between them."
Both candidates advocate similar education policies, vow to eradicate dangerous hog lagoons and support a state-run lottery to benefit North Carolina's public school system.
And both say it is their experience in North Carolina government that sets them apart.
For the past eight years under departing Gov. Jim Hunt, Easley has been attorney general and Wicker has served as lieutenant governor.
But according to the latest Mason-Dixon poll, voters indicated a preliminary preference-Easley leads Wicker by a two-to-one margin.
"Easley has more charisma and more style," Beyle explained. "His job gives him more visibility."
The campaign has heated up in the last several weeks, characterized by back-and-forth bickering over issues like hog lagoons.
"He has no plan," Wicker said two weeks ago of Easley. "If we don't get rid of [hog lagoons], we're going to have the worst ecological disaster in the history of the state."
Easley has since proposed a plan to phase out hog lagoons within five years, a plan that the Wicker campaign belittled as merely a "hog lagoon conversion."
In an e-mail, Easley spokesperson Amanda Crumley emphasized his experience when asked what attributes separated
She included a laundry list of accomplishments, including Easley's work on raising the state prison cap and protecting the environment.
Wicker also said his experience qualifies him for the governorship. "I'm the only candidate who has the... experience, the background and the understanding...," he said, referring to his eight years as Hunt's lieutenant governor.
"I know the players, the personalities, the process critical to passing [an] agenda."
The state's second-in-command vows to continue Hunt's work on education by strengthening programs such as Smart Start, an initiative designed to prepare North Carolina children for elementary school.
Wicker also wants to reduce class sizes and offer free college tuition to talented high school students.
Easley has proposed giving the state's senior citizens aid in purchasing increasingly expensive prescription drugs.
He also favors implementing a state lottery to benefit public schools. Currently, neighboring Virginia has a lottery.
"North Carolinians are already helping fund smaller classes and other educational improvements by playing the lottery," he wrote in an e-mail. "The problem is they are funding education in other states."
Wicker echoed this sentiment, saying that the Republican moral objection to gambling is a moot point.
"They're burying their heads in the sand....," he said. "We're the only state that plays the lottery and doesn't get anything from it."
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