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By SEAN MUSSENDEN and JAMES ROMOSER
Media General News Service
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Democratic presidential candidates made their final pitches to North Carolinians today, urging Democrats to turn out in record numbers for Tuesday’s primary.
“We need everybody to vote tomorrow. Don’t hold back, now. This is a historic election,” Barack Obama told a crowd of startled diners during a stop at a soul food restaurant in Greensboro.
“Tomorrow, North Carolina gets to help pick a president,” Hillary Clinton said during a brief visit to a train station in downtown High Point. As a train sped through the station, she added: “That’s why it’s so important that as this train goes by, we think that it’s taking us into the future and we’re all going to be on it. Let’s go win an election!”
Though important, neither the North Carolina nor Indiana primary Tuesday will be decisive in determining the nominee.
But as the Democratic primary process nears its end next month, the results in both states could be critical in influencing superdelegates who will ultimately decide the party’s nominee against John McCain in the fall.
Obama is almost certain to have more pledged delegates than Clinton after the final primary, unless he loses by record margins in the remaining states.
He currently leads with 1,488 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1,334.
For Clinton, a win in North Carolina — buoyed by support from blue-collar whites — could help her argument that Obama’s failure to win the support of that group could doom his chances in the fall. For Obama, a win here could cut into Clinton’s argument that only she has won big states — like Ohio and Pennsylvania — where Democrats see a chance for success in the general election.
A split — likely Indiana for Clinton and North Carolina for Obama, based on recent polls — would little alter the dynamics of the race. But if Obama or Clinton were to sweep both states, it could shift momentum to that candidate heading into the final round of primaries this month.

mgwashington.com

Primary voters are going to the polls today in North Carolina and Indiana. As always, USA TODAY’s On Politics blog has complete ballot-to-ballot coverage.
Sen. John McCain is already the presumptive GOP nominee, so most people are focused on the competition between Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
The Charlotte Observer cites reports of long lines at some polling stations in North Carolina. Up north, our corporate cousins at the Indy Star say they’re seeing heavy turnout, too, including Republicans who crossed the partisan divide and voted in the Democratic primary.
"I’m a hardcore Republican, but it’s about who I wanted in second place in case [Sen. John] McCain doesn’t make it," Meghan Ward-Bopp, 24, tells the paper. "I don’t like the way this country’s been run in the last 20 years," she adds. "I’m sick of the dynasty that’s been running things."
The North Carolina Board of Elections is projecting they’ll see 50% turnout among Democrats and 20% turnout among Republicans, according to the News & Observer.
Election officials in Indiana, whose voter ID law was just upheld by the Supreme Court, are predicting that today’s turnout will be comparable to what they have seen during general elections.
The state has 4.3 million registered voters right now, up from about 4 million at the beginning of the year, according to CQ Politics.
(Top photo taken today at the Madison Township fire station in Hobbs, Ind., by Jeff Haynes, Reuters; Bottom photo taken today at the Cameron Village Library in Raleigh by Jim R. Bounds, AP.)

blogs.usatoday.com

With one-stop voting ending on Saturday and all absentee ballots due back at the Wayne County Board of Elections office by 5 p.m. Monday, the stage is set for Tuesday’s primary elections.
Voting will begin at 6:30 a.m. at all 30 of the county’s polling stations and will end at 7:30 p.m.
Election officials are expecting turnout for the primaries, which feature races ranging from county commissioner, to state House and Senate, to governor and lieutenant governor, to the U.S. House and Senate and to the presidency, as well as a quarter-cent sales tax referendum, to be at or near all-time highs.
“The Wayne County Board of Elections is expecting a record turnout for the May 6 primary,” county elections director Vickie Reed said last week. “The presidential candidates had already been decided before North Carolina’s primary in 2004, so this year North Carolina will really play an important role in the selection of the next President of the United States.
“Our voters are aware of this and we will see that reflected at the polls.”
Already numbers have run strong for the absentee and one-stop voting.
As of Friday, the last day numbers were available from the county elections office, approximately 6,166 ballots have been given to voters either through the traditional absentee process or at the one-stop site at the Wayne County Public Library’s Goldsboro Branch.
All total, there could be more than 63,500 ballots handed for the primaries — with approximately 32,000 Democrat, 20,800 Republican and 10,600 unaffiliated voters registered in Wayne County.
Of those, more than 2,930 have registered since Jan. 1, with about 350 taking advantage of the new one-stop same-day registration rules. And of those, Democrats have outpaced Republicans nearly three to one, with slightly more unaffiliateds than Republican also registering. No registrations will be accepted on Tuesday.

newsargus.com

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks during a campaign stop at a train depot in High Point, N.C. Monday, May 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
By NEDRA PICKLER and TOM RAUM – 7 hours ago
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Dueling over gas prices, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama strained for every last vote on Monday, the eve of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries that are the biggest prizes left in their epic Democratic nomination fight.
Her TV ads promoted her plan for a summer-long gas-tax holiday and contended she was the candidate who “gets it.” He said the plan was just another Washington stunt.
A combined 187 delegates are at stake in the two states, nearly half of the pledged delegates left with eight primaries to go before voting ends in a month.
Obama was the favorite in North Carolina, but both candidates campaigned vigorously there with polls showing a tightening race since Clinton’s win in Pennsylvania two weeks ago. Indiana was considered tighter, with most polls in the final days showing Clinton taking the lead.
Obama hurried back and forth between the two states, pleading for votes. “I want your vote. I want it badly,” he said on a factory floor in Durham, one of many stops aimed at winning over working-class voters. He is hoping to gain support from a group that has not greeted his candidacy enthusiastically — white, mostly male construction and factory workers.
Clinton, also campaigning in North Carolina, campaigned for blue-collar votes, too, talking about the hard times the country faces.
“It’s time to quit wringing our hands and start rolling up our sleeves,” she said.
Pain at the gas pump has become a big issue in the long campaign that started out focusing on the Iraq war.

ap.google.com

BICYCLE MAINTENANCE CLINIC: Learn the basics of drive train adjustments and brake systems each Tuesday at Ski Country Sports on Merrimon Avenue. Call ahead for more information, 254-2771.
CASUAL ROAD BIKE RIDE: A brBC ride meets 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday. The two-hour ride covers 16-25 miles. No ride if inclement weather. Meet at Fletcher Community Park at 4005 Hendersonville Road on the first Tuesday of each month. Meets at Liberty Bicycles at 1378 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, on other Tuesdays. Call Claudia at 274-2453, e-mail at claudianix@libertybikes.com or visit www.blueridgebicycleclub.org.
FLETCHER BLUE SKY ROAD RIDE: A brBC ride begins at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday. Different route each week ranging from 20-35 miles, casual pace of 13-15 mph. Lunch afterwards. Meet at Fletcher Community Park on Howard Gap Road. Call 696-0877 or e-mail johnl9@mchsi.com.
BURNSVILLE METRIC 2008: Metric century ride through Yancey and Mitchell counties on Saturday. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., Burnsville Town Center; ride begins at 9 a.m. from the town square. Cost is $35. Visit www.burnsvillemetric.com or e-mail rraskin@yancey.main.nc.us.
LEDGES PARK ROAD RIDE: A brBC ride at 9 a.m. Saturdays. Meet at Ledges Park for a ride along the French Broad River to Marshall for coffee. Average speed is 17 mph over about 35 miles. E-mail Jones Byrd at jbyrdlaw@charter.net or visit www.blueridgebicycleclub.org.
BEATING THE BOUNDS: Annual bicycle event begins at 9 a.m. today, at Pack Square in downtown Asheville. The ride is open to all experienced bicyclists, start and end at Vance Monument and travels 64 miles to the four boundaries of Asheville lying east, south, west and north. All riders must wear a helmet. Visit www.blueridgebicycleclub.org for more details.
BENT CREEK RIDE: A Pisgah Area SORBA directed ride at 10:45 a.m. each Sunday. Meet at Rice Pinnacle parking lot, just past the N.C. Arboretum’s side entrance. Ride begins at 11 a.m. and lasts two-five hours. All skills welcome. Rain or shine. A Beginner ride meets 1:30-3 p.m. every first and third Sunday at Rice Pinnacle parking lot. Distance is 10-12 miles. Visit www.pisgahareasorba.org.

citizen-times.com

Topsail High School senior Grant Gates is not going to school on April 25 or any of the next four days after that. But don’t call the truancy officer yet. Grant will be in Atlanta representing DECA at the International Career Development Conference.
For those who don’t know, DECA is a business marketing and management organization that prepares mainly high school students for careers in related fields. The club also has alumni who remain involved with them.
Up to 15,000 students will be descending upon Atlanta for the late April convention. What makes Gates’ attendance at the meeting special is that he is one of only 100 finalists from all over the country for the $25,000 Harry Applegate Scholarship.
Becoming a finalist for the scholarship is not just something someone can sign up to win.
Gates earned this spot after placing first in a statewide DECA event called the Business Interview Skills Role Play.
The role-play was a grueling grilling by area business leaders who volunteered to keep the competition as realistic as possible. Gates had to be fluent in five competencies that DECA tests for during the competition. He also had to be able to maintain his composure, since the point of the event was to apply these concepts out of students’ normal comfort zones.
Winning one competition is not the only accomplishment Gates has attained through his two years in DECA. When he was not focusing on his other schoolwork or his part-time job, he found the time to prepare for and even place in a few other DECA competitions.
Gates will has quite a few more things he could put on his resume than your average teenager thanks to his DECA involvement. He placed in the top six in the state on a 100 question marketing exam. He also won the Sonya Dismuke scholarship; named after the late DECA Advisor. He placed first in the state in employment skills competition. Finally, he was awarded the outstanding presidents award for his leadership of the Topsail High organization

topsailadvertiser.com