Former Charlotte mayor and gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory will be in Laurinburg on Tuesday.
In what the campaign is calling a “business stop,” McCrory is scheduled to stop in at specialized industrial textile company Service Thread.
Ricky Diaz, McCrory’s press secretary, called Scotland County’s 17.6 percent jobless rate “unacceptable.”
“Pat’s vision and plan to fix North Carolina’s broken government and broken economy encompasses all areas in North Carolina. That’s why he’s visiting a local small business to discuss what North Carolina can do better to help existing businesses and companies create jobs and grow our economy.”
The visit is part of a campaign road trip by McCrory.
Asked what a traditional Democratic stronghold like Scotland County has to offer McCrory, Diaz said that “Pat is traveling to all areas of North Carolina discussing his positive message and vision to get our economy back on track, speaking with Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
“And if elected, Pat won’t be satisfied until all areas of the the state are part of the Carolina comeback and that certainly includes Scotland County.”
Local Republican party officials are also hoping that McCrory will make a stop by the county’s party headquarters in Laurinburg.
Bill Owens, chairman for the GOP in Scotland County, expects McCrory to be the next governor of North Carolina.
“I’m convinced based on what I see as of today that he will be our next governor. He should have been last time, but (President Barack) Obama’s coattails carried a lot of people in to office,” Owens said, alluding to Gov. Bev Perdue election victory in 2008. “That’s not likely to happen again.”
In a poll by Democratic-leaning pollster Public Policy Polling taken earlier this month, McCrory led his opponent, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, 45-38. The current Real Clear Politics poll average has McCrory leading 45.3 to 39.3 for Dalton.
“We are excited to have him come visit the people of Scotland County,” Owens said. “I think he did an excellent job as mayor of Charlotte and he had great success attracting business there and I think he can do the same thing for the state.”
Owens said that McCrory’s visit to Scotland County shows that “he cares about all people and that he is willing to meet all people. Not just those in the western part of the state where we have heavy Republican registration.”
McCrory is scheduled to arrive at Service Thread at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Owens expects McCrory to visit the Scotland County GOP headquarters located at 684 South US-15-401 Bypass around 3:15 p.m.















