On October 3rd, two exciting, influential and informative debates took place. First, the North Carolina Gubernatorial race candidate’s debate between Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton and former Charlotte Mayor, frontrunner Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Pat McCrory. Second, the debate between Republican Presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney and current president Barack Obama.
The race between Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton is not even a close one. Democrat’s polls showed McCrory up 10 points before the debate. It is no secret between Democrats or Republicans that Pat McCrory will most assuredly be the next Governor of North Carolina. After the upheaval in the North Carolina Democratic Party in the past year with Governor Bev Perdue, Walter Dalton does not stand much of a chance at all. On the other hand, the situation is completely different with Pat McCrory. He continues to excel in the polls and is exceedingly popular and is raising a great deal of money.
Who even knows how the presidential race is going? Mitt’s campaign claims it is going great and they are doing fine because they are raising plenty of money but not spending until crucial points later in the race.
The Obama campaign has also raised a great deal of money but is spending it liberally every day, which could be a benefit later on or a definite regret. The polls are showing a close race between Obama and Romney but are they skewed? I honestly do not think we will know until November. Polls are notoriously inaccurate and both candidates want to be portrayed as the frontrunner as best as possible.
I had the pleasure of spending the evening in the NBC 17 studios in Raleigh serving as a panel member for the North Carolina Gubernatorial debate. After analyzing the debate and discussing with other panel members I gave my opinion as to who won the debate. I stated that I believed the debate was somewhat of a tie. Though Dalton did come out swinging, Pat stood his ground. After leaving the studios I headed to Natty Greene’s where a watch party was going on with the Romney vs. Obama debate. A great amount of enthusiasm filled the room as presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took on Obama on a variety of issues.
In my opinion, Mitt Romney won the debate hands down by a large margin his runaway victory was a surprise to many. Mitt was very sharp from the beginning after correcting Barack on several occasions. After he left Barack dumbfounded on issues relating to business and taxes he continued to take him through the ringer. Barack’s face and other gestures made by his hands expressed a feeling of nervousness and anxiousness.
My determination as to which candidate won the debate was based upon whose poll numbers increased. Do not expect Obama to be such an easy opponent in the next debate. He will most assuredly be on his game. Mitt Romney will continue to do well in the debates he performed well in the Republican primary debates, I would expect nothing less in the future debates between the two.
After the debate, members of both parties said they were very anxious to hear from the vice presidential candidates. Paul Ryan and Joe Biden debating will be an exciting event for both sides of the aisle. Democrats needing a chance to redeem could be a bit nervous after the first presidential debate considering the poor performance of the President and Joe Biden’s notorious follies when speaking in public. Republicans, on the other hand, are also on their guard after Romney’s success, and they want to keep the enthusiasm up and continue to promote the Romney Ryan Ticket.
The winner of this election is going to come down to the unaffiliated voters. I honestly believe if the election were to be held today, Mitt Romney would win considering his appeal to a working class demographic. There are many weeks until November 6th. Obama is certainly still a contender but his chances are getting slimmer in North Carolina.
