With Gov. Bev Perdue’s announcement last month that she will not run for re-election, Democrats are scrambling to find a candidate with high enough name recognition and favorability ratings to beat the assumed Republican candidate, former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory.

The candidates

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and N.C. Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange, announced their runs for governor soon after Perdue said she would not seek re-election, with former Congressman Bob Etheridge announcing his run a week later.

Former UNC-system President Erskine Bowles, who was the favorite among the field of possible Democratic candidates, announced he would not run for governor on Feb. 2, the same day Etheridge entered the race.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre announced Friday that he would not run for governor, and will instead seek re-election to Congress. He said in a statement that “there is simply not enough time between now and May 8 to construct the type of campaign that I would have liked to establish.”

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller is still considering entering the race, after having said he would make a decision last weekend.

Miller decided not to run for Congress after this year’s redistricting would have put him in the same district as long time Chapel Hill representative David Price.

N.C. Sen. Dan Blue, D- Wake, is also considering a run for governor.

The issues

The main two issues shaping the debate for the gubernatorial race are extending the temporary sales tax increase and the same-sex marriage amendment.

All of the Democratic candidates have said that an amendment to the state constitution is unnecessary since same-sex marriage is already illegal. Etheridge initially did not take a stance on the issue, but later said that even though he opposes same-sex marriage, the law already on the books is sufficient.
Dalton took it one step further.

“Lt. Gov. Dalton believes that Amendment One is bad for families and is bad for business,” said Pearse Edwards, Dalton’s spokesman.

McCrory has said he will vote for the amendment.

The Democratic candidates also agree on restoring Perdue’s temporary sales tax increase, which the Republican-led legislature repealed last year. McCrory opposes it.

Democrats argue the sales tax increase is necessary to fund public education, while Republicans say that raising taxes is not the answer.

“The Lt. Governor believes that we must have funding in place to protect K-12 public education and avoid permanent teacher layoffs that would increase class sizes,” Edwards said. “Last year, Pat McCrory supported the Republican leadership’s budget that resulted in the layoffs of thousands of teachers.”

Brian Nick, spokesman for McCrory, said if education is the top priority, the governor should make sure the existing budget is going toward education.

“But (Perdue) started the discussion with that tax increase. A discussion about a tax increase while North Carolina has one of the worst economies in the country,” he said. “We can fund education without raising taxes.”

The Democrats agree on the most divisive issues, but the party still needs to nominate a single candidate by May 8.

According to a report released last week by Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning firm based in Raleigh, Etheridge has the lead among the Democratic candidates with 30 percent, while 24 percent prefer Dalton, and 6 percent prefer Faison. Thirty-nine percent were undecided.

Etheridge also had the highest favorability ratings among the announced Democratic candidates, with 31 percent for and 19 percent against, leaving half undecided.

The poll attributed Etheridge’s slim advantage to name recognition.

The money

Campaigns have also started fundraising. McCrory’s campaign has already raised $2.6 million, while the Democratic candidates are starting from scratch. Perdue’s campaign had raised $4 million before she dropped out of the race.

Jeanne Bonds, spokeswoman for Faison, said Faison has been traveling extensively to spread his message of “economy, education, and energy” to people across the state, and will be holding 12 to 14 events in different cities. His campaign hopes to raise more than $1 million for the gubernatorial race.

Edwards said that he is “confident (Dalton) will raise all the necessary funds needed to be competitive in the primary and general elections.”

Etheridge’s campaign could not be reached for comment for this article.