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Nov. 9, 2000

North Carolina's Election Winner: Andy Griffith over Dean Smith

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ - On November 7th voters indicated their preference for Attorney General Mike Easley for Governor over former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot. A tactic both candidates used was to seek the endorsement of people they believe are well-respected and well-liked by the voters. How effective were they?

According to a survey conducted by the NC Center for Voter Education, a non-partisan not-for-profit organization which studies election issues, North Carolinians are ver particular about whom they will trust when it comes to political issues. Mr. Easley no only won the battle at the ballot box, but also the endorsement battle.

Mr. Vinroot, a former basketball player for UNC-Chapel Hill, aired television commercials advertising his endorsement by legendary basketball coach Dean Smith. Mr. Easley aired television commercials featuring his endorsement by North Carolina actor Andy Griffith.

This summer, before the political advertising for the governor's race took place, researchers for the Center asked voters the following question, "I am going to list some public figures, please rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means you give no weight to their viewpoint and where 5 means you give a lot of weight to their viewpoint. If you have not heard of the person or are undecided, please say so.''

Both Coach Smith and Mr. Griffith's names were tested, though the results were kept secret. The Center had no knowledge that each would appear in political ads during the campaign.

The result of the matchup? In a poll of 922 likely voters statewide, more people gave weight to Mr. Griffith's viewpoint than to Coach Smith's. Mr. Griffith's support was moderate, but wide spread. People were slightly more divided about Coach Smith's support, with people either really liking or disliking his opinion.

What was the effect of these endorsements on the campaign?

"People like the ads, because they see faces they recognize, and the endorsements are positive messages,'' said Center director Chris Heagarty, "But even though Andy edged past Coach Smith in the poll, the numbers also show that on political issues, most voters don't give that much weight to either opinion. If anything, it shows that we've probably got a lot of State and Duke fans out there.''

This release represents the results of a scientific survey of public opinion among 922 likely voters in North Carolina conducted between the dates of June 28-30, 2000 by the Strategic Analysis & Messaging.

The voter poll was based upon actual telephone interviews by professionally trained operators of 922 registered voters in North Carolina who were likely to vote in the 2000 General Election and the sample population was scientifically selected to meet rigid criteria of random selection and geographical allocation.

Survey results for a sample of 922 provides a sampling error factor of less than plus or minus 3.5% at the .95 confidence level.

SOURCE: North Carolina Center for Voter Education