Gubernatorial primaries take back seat to presidential race

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press Writer

(AP) - Locked in a tight gubernatorial primary race in Indiana, Jim Schellinger thought he made big news when a former governor endorsed his candidacy April 2.

Only problem: Former President Clinton was in the state the same day, stealing headlines as he rallied thousands in support of his wife's slightly higher-profile contest.

"A little disappointed," said Schellinger, a Democrat, recalling the missed opportunity. Then he noted more optimistically that Indiana's soaring voter registration ahead of the May 6 primary is good for everyone.

"It's not about just me," said Schellinger, a businessman running in his first statewide race. "This is a big deal for our state and for our nation."

Competitive primaries for governor and other state offices in Indiana and North Carolina are vying for attention with the ongoing Democratic contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

In some cases, the campaigns are overlapping. North Carolina's state Republicans planned to air an ad Tuesday linking the two Democratic candidates for governor to Obama and his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, whose comments about U.S. policies have been criticized.

Both states hold gubernatorial primaries May 6, the first time this campaign season that such races are sharing the ballot with presidential primaries. Voter registration is way up in both states because of the presidential race.

The most recent polling showed Obama and Clinton in a dead heat in Indiana. Obama leads in North Carolina but many voters are still undecided.

Eleven states elect governors in November, an off-year for gubernatorial races ahead of 2010, when about two-thirds of the nation's executive mansions will be up for grabs.

After a decade in the minority, Democratic governors now hold a 28-22 advantage nationally, which could ultimately boost the party's presidential nominee. Governors can rally support for a candidate and energize a party's get-out-the-vote machinery.

In Missouri, what appeared to be a two-man race between incumbent GOP Gov. Matt Blunt and Democrat Jay Nixon disintegrated when Blunt abruptly dropped out of the race earlier this year, saying he'd accomplished his goals and would not seek re-election after all.

Since then, two other Democrats filed to challenge Nixon in the state's August primary and five Republicans filed on the GOP side, including U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof and state Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

The most competitive general election is expected in Washington state, where incumbent Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and GOP opponent Dino Rossi are reprising their 2004 cliffhanger that Gregoire ultimately won by 133 votes.

In Indiana, Schellinger faces fellow Democrat Jill Long Thompson in a close race. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, running for a second term, is unopposed in his Republican primary.

"It's a little more difficult to plan events, get volunteers and build up grass roots activity because a lot of people are drawn to the glitz and glamor of the presidential race," said Long Thompson spokesman Jeff Harris.

Indiana registration has grown by 4 percent since the May 2004 primary. That's a significant jump given a purge of more than half a million inactive voters from the rolls two years ago, said Bethany Derringer, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state.

Pollster Del Ali says it appears Long Thompson, a former congresswoman, would benefit from a strong turnout for Obama because she does well among blacks and young voters. But he also says the governor's race is not likely to be on the minds of many voters May 6 regardless of which presidential candidate they support.

"The rank and file Democratic primary voter when they wake up on Tuesday aren't saying, 'Geez, I can't wait to vote in the governor's race,'" Ali said. "It's, 'Hey, I'm voting for Obama or Clinton.'"

The problem in predicting the gubernatorial outcome, says Indiana University political scientist Marjorie Hershey, is that, having cast a vote in the presidential race, voters might skip the state races or make a random selection.

In North Carolina, five candidates are competing for the Republican nomination for governor and three to be the Democratic nominee.

North Carolina has 5.8 million registered voters, a 13 percent increase over 2004. Those figures include 1.2 million unaffiliated or independent voters, many of whom are expected to vote in the Democratic primary.

Black voter registration has also spiked in North Carolina, up 19 percent from 2004 to 1.2 million. Both Democratic gubernatorial candidates in North Carolina have endorsed Obama.

"We're in unknown territory in North Carolina politics," said David Kochman, spokesman for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, one of the Democratic candidates. "Just the idea of having a presidential election that matters at the same time is so foreign to the state."

The state GOP party ad airing Tuesday says Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore should have known better than to endorse Obama. "He's just too extreme for North Carolina," the ad says.

Some worried that the lack of a competitive presidential primary on the Republican side could depress GOP voter turnout in North Carolina.

Pat McCrory, the Charlotte mayor and a Republican gubernatorial candidates, says independents choosing a Democratic ballot could hurt him, since he appeals to both GOP and unaffiliated voters.

Meanwhile, Bob Orr, a Republican former state Supreme Court justice who also is running, says the Democrats' contest takes away from coverage of the GOP race.

"For those of us who are not big dollar candidates or backed by the big money, you tend to rely more on local media and the statewide political coverage to provide information to voters," Orr said. "And we're seeing less and less of that."