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Bev Perdue

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Beverly Perdue
73rd Governor of North Carolina
Assumed office
January 10, 2009
LieutenantWalter Dalton
Preceded byMike Easley
32nd Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
In office
January 6, 2001 – January 10, 2009
GovernorMike Easley
Preceded byDennis Wicker
Succeeded byWalter Dalton
Personal details
Born (1947-01-14) January 14, 1947 (age 77)
Grundy, Virginia
Political partyDemocratic Party
Spouse(s)Gary Perdue (1970–1994)
Bob Eaves (1997–present)
ResidenceNorth Carolina Executive Mansion Raleigh, North Carolina
Alma materUniversity of Kentucky
University of Florida
ProfessionHospital administrator
WebsiteOfficial website

Template:FixHTML Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue[1] (born January 14, 1947)[2] is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina. In October of 2010, Perdue disclosed that her 2008 gubernatorial campaign is under federal criminal investigation. [3]

Personal life

Beverly Marlene Moore[4] was born in Grundy, Virginia to Alfred P. and Irene Morefield Moore.[4] Her father was a coal miner who became a utility CEO.[5] She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky, as well as a master's degree in education and a doctoral degree in education administration from the University of Florida. She worked as a hospital administrator and consultant before entering politics.[6]

Perdue lives in Chapel Hill and formerly lived in New Bern. She has been married to Bob Eaves since 1997 and has two grown sons, Garrett and Emmett (b. 1976, 1979), from her previous marriage to Gary Perdue, which lasted from 1970 to 1994.[4] She still keeps her last name as "Perdue," using her new married name as her middle name.[4] She is not related to Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia.

Political career

Perdue, a Democrat, served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991, and in the North Carolina Senate from 1991 to 2001. During her last three terms in the Senate, she served as a senior budget writer and was the first woman to hold this position. While she was in office, the General Assembly increased teacher pay and passed Governor Hunt's Excellent Schools Act and Smart Start. Additionally, she led the debate that created North Carolina's Clean Water Management Trust Fund.[5]

In 2000, she defeated Republican Betsy Cochrane for the lieutenant governor's seat, becoming North Carolina's first female lieutenant governor; she was re-elected to a second term in 2004.[5] As lieutenant governor, Perdue's most significant act was casting the tie-breaking vote that established the North Carolina Education Lottery.[5]

2008 gubernatorial election

Main article: North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008

Perdue announced her 2008 candidacy for governor on October 1, 2007 at her hometown, New Bern, North Carolina. On October 22, 2007, pro-choice Emily's List endorsed her campaign.[7][8] On May 6, 2008, Perdue won the Democratic nomination for Governor, defeating State Treasurer Richard H. Moore and Dennis Nielsen.[9]

Perdue raised $15 million for the general election and ran attack ads against her Republican opponent, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, criticizing him for not being tough enough on illegal immigration.[6] Despite a "national Democratic tide" and Perdue's fundraising edge,[10] in the general election McCrory led Perdue at first; Perdue slowly gained with help from Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate.[11] Perdue and McCrory remained close, with the two often polling in a statistical tie[10] in what was the closest race for governor in the nation.[6] Perdue ran slightly behind her opponent in polls released the week before the election.[10] Pundits speculated that Perdue was hurt by current Democratic Governor Mike Easley's decreasing popularity and McCrory's efforts to tag her as part of corruption in Raleigh: consultants mentioned Perdue's "difficulty of being the candidate of continuity in a change election."[11]

While McCrory received the endorsement of most major newspapers in the state (which typically endorse Democrats),[12][13][14][15][16][17] Perdue received the endorsement of actor and director Andy Griffith, who filmed a campaign ad on her behalf.[18]

Perdue defeated McCrory on November 4, 2008, 50.3 % to 46.9 %.[19]

When Hillary Clinton dropped out of the 2008 presidential race the The New York Times mentioned Perdue as a potential future presidential candidate.[20]

Federal Criminal Investigation

On October 22, 2010, Perdue revealed that her 2008 campaign is under State and Federal investigation. Authorities are looking into 41 confirmed private flights she took going back to 2005. Her campaign did not report the flights until last year. The State Board of Elections in August fined Perdue's campaign $30,000 for the flights aboard campaign donors' planes. The campaign has paid the fine.

Perdue and representatives of her campaign have maintained that there was never any intent to conceal the flights, some of which might have violated state limits on contributions to candidates. Rather, they have said, the campaign had "a flawed system for recording flights," and the trips weren't discovered until an audit of campaign records was conducted last year. [21]

Political positions

Perdue's Senate record followed the lines of the Democratic caucus.[5] As a member of the Board of Community Colleges, she voted against allowing illegal immigrants to attend the schools even if they graduated from a North Carolina high school.[5] She had previously said she would admit every high school graduate to community college tuition-free.[5] In late February and early March 2009, she announced that $87 million from the educational lottery would be used to ensure there is money available for the state's day-to-day operations.[22]

In her first use of the veto power, Gov. Perdue vetoed a bill that would have made various documents that lawmakers use in drafting legislation confidential.[23]

Electoral history

North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Beverly Perdue 2,146,083 50.27%
Republican Pat McCrory 2,001,114 46.88%
Libertarian Michael Munger 121,585 2.85%

Approval rating as Governor

After an initial peak in popularity after her inauguration, Governor Perdue's approval rating has dropped, averaging in the low 30's since June 2009.

Polling Organization Date Approve Disapprove Undecided
PPP 11/9 - 11/11/09 30% 49% 22%
Elon University 10/26 - 10/29/09 36% 47% 18%
Citivas / McLaughlin 10/20 - 10/21/09 43% 49% 8%
Citivas / Survey USA 9/29 - 9/30 29% 63% 8%
Rasmussen 9/15/09 40% 58% 2%
Public Policy Polling 8/4 - 8/10/09 27% 52% 21%
Public Policy Polling 7/10 - 7/12/09 25% 55% 20%
Public Policy Polling 6/12 - 6/14/09 30% 53% 17%
Public Policy Polling 5/8 - 5/10/09 34% 51% 15%
Public Policy Polling 4/8 - 4/11/09 41% 40% 19%
Public Policy Polling 3/12 - 3/15/09 44% 35% 21%
Civitas Institute 2/16 - 2/19/09 52% 16% 32 %
Public Policy Polling 1/17 - 1/18/09 60% 24% 16%

Data provided by Pollster.

References

  1. ^ Washington Post and State letterhead indicate that she places her second husband's surname, Eaves, before her first husband's surname, Perdue.
  2. ^ "Perdue's change of birthdate". News & Observer.
  3. ^ Feds investigating Perdue campaign
  4. ^ a b c d Teague Beckwith, Ryan and Jones, Denise (2007-03-26). Beverly Perdue. The News & Observer. Retrieved on 2008-11-05 from http://projects.newsobserver.com/dome/profiles/beverly_perdue.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Looking for real reform in the governor's race". Independent Weekly. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-11-25. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Romoser, James (2008-11-05). "Perdue, in a first, edges McCrory". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2008-11-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) [dead link]
  7. ^ Perdue campaign press release
  8. ^ Emily's List
  9. ^ State Board of Elections
  10. ^ a b c Johnson, Mark (2008-11-02). "Race for Governor Remains Close". The News & Observer. Retrieved 2008-11-24. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  11. ^ a b "Is the Southern Strategy Dead?". American Prospect. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2008-10-26. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "McCrory visits Chapel Hill". Daily Tar Heel. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-11-25. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ [2]
  15. ^ [3]
  16. ^ [4]
  17. ^ "McCrory for governor: Charlotte mayor would bring fresh and innovative leadership to Raleigh". Daily Tar Heel. 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-10-28. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ News & Observer: Perdue's Mayberry Miracle
  19. ^ Gary Robertson (2008-11-04). "Democrat Perdue becomes NC's 1st female governor". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  20. ^ Zernike, Kate (2008-05-18). "She Just Might Be President Someday". New York Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ Perdue Under Federal Investigation
  22. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29494123/
  23. ^ Perdue veto kills confidentiality bill
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
2001–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of North Carolina
2009–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Vice President Order of Precedence of the United States
Within North Carolina 		Succeeded by
Mayor of city
in which event is held
Succeeded by
Preceded byas Governor of New York Order of Precedence of the United States
Outside North Carolina 		Succeeded byas Governor of Rhode Island
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