Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory enjoys the greatest name recognition, at least in this part of the state, and is running first in several statewide polls. He is bright and articulate and makes a good public impression.

Almost all candidates in Republican primaries claim to be fiscal conservatives, and McCrory is no exception. But his record tells a different story.

As Mayor, McCrory has presided over multiple tax increases. According to the John Locke Foundation, a free-market think tank, Charlotte has the highest per-capita property tax burden of any large North Carolina city.

McCrory helped push through a new $265 million uptown arena even after voters rejected the project in a non-binding referendum. He supported Mecklenburg’s extra half-cent sales tax for mass transit.

North Carolina’s per-capita tax burden has increased far faster than the rate of inflation over the past several years. We need a governor who will work to restrain spending and reduce taxes. Judging by has record as Mayor, we question whether McCrory will do so.

Bill Graham is a wealthy Salisbury trial lawyer who paid for the “Stop the Gas Tax Hike” television ads. He has never held public office.

Although he is on the right side on the gas tax hike and a few other high-profile issues, many question Graham’s conservative credentials.  He has made a number of substantial campaign donations to  liberal Democrats.

Eddie Powers is a political unknown who has  done little campaigning.

Fred Smith has served in the N.C. Senate since 2002, where he has compiled a solidly conservative voting record. He is an excellent speaker and hard-working campaigner who has likely met more voters in person than any of the candidates.

Smith’s personal story is impressive. Starting with modest means, he founded a homebuilding business that now has about 700 employees.

Robert Orr is a former Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court. In our opinion he was one of the best—if not the best—members of the Court. He later headed the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law,  a non-profit legal foundation that, among other things, challenged the state’s multi-million dollar subsidies for corporations such as Dell and Google.

Orr is independent minded, but takes the conservative view on most issues. His  positions are well researched and closely reasoned; he arguably has the keenest intellect of any of the candidates.

Fred Smith and Robert Orr are both genuine conservatives. We believe Smith would  be the stronger candidate in a general election, due to the fact that he has the financial resources needed to run an effective campaign. We respect Justice Orr (we wish he were still on the Supreme Court), but question whether he can raise the money needed to win in November.

For these reasons, we plan to vote for Fred Smith in the Republican primary, but have no quarrel with those who plan to vote for Robert Orr.

Democrat candidates

Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue and state Treasurer Richard Moore are engaged in an acrimonious battle for the Democrat nomination for Governor. Although the candidates clearly have an intense dislike for each other, their differences are personal and not philosophical. Both are very liberal;  both have endorsed Barak Obama for President.