ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS BY VARIOUS PRINT AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Citing a John McLaughlin & Assoc. Survey of North Carolina Taken Nov. 21-23, 1999

By Staff Writers ANNA GRIFFEN, CAROL D. LEONNIG, JEN PILLA, and LAUREN MARKOE

Declaring yourself the frontrunner has its drawbacks. Last week, for the umpteenth time, Republican gubernatorial candidate Leo Daughtry's campaigners declared their guy the main man in the May primary.

Not so fast, say campaigners for former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot. They released a late-November poll by John McLaughlin & Associates, an Alexandria, Va.-based firm working for the Vinroot campaign.

The poll asked: "If the Republican primary election for governor were held today, and the candidates were Richard Vinroot, Leo Daughtry, and (Raleigh lawyer) Chuck Neely, for whom would you vote?"

The answer, according to the Vinroot-hired John McLaughlin & Associates: Vinroot, 28 percent; Daughtry, 9; Neely, 6.

But here's the real key. Undecided: 56 percent.

By ROB CHRISTENSEN

. . .The three GOP candidates [for North Carolina Governor] are all regarded as moderately conservative, Chamber of Commerce Republicans who have been trying to sharpen their appeal to the party's right wing, particularly social conservatives.

All three start out with regional bases of support. But so far only [former Charlotte mayor Richard] Vinroot -- who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1996 -- has shown any signs of a statewide following.

Last week, his campaign released a poll, conducted by John McLaughlin, showing 56 percent of the GOP voters undecided. Vinroot led with 28.8 percent, followed by [state Rep. Leo] Daughtry with 9 percent and [former state Rep. Chuck] Neely with 6.2 percent. The survey of 400 likely GOP voters was conducted between Nov. 2 and Nov. 23, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. . .

A John McLaughlin & Associates (R) poll, conducted 11/21-23 for '96 candidate Richard Vinroot, surveyed 400 likely GOP primary voters; margin of error +/- 4% (release, 12/13). GOPers tested: Vinroot, state Rep. Leo Daughtry and ex-state Rep. Chuck Neely.