GOP, Democratic candidates differ on offshore drilling

RALEIGH -- Republican candidate for governor Pat McCrory says his plan to allow drilling off the North Carolina coast would help farmers produce food for the nation.

The Charlotte mayor told a meeting of the North Carolina Farm Bureau on Thursday that permitting such drilling for oil and gas would provide revenues and ultimately lower gas prices.

Democrat Beverly Perdue is opposed to allowing such drilling, which would initially have to be approved by Washington.

In her own speech to more than 300 farming leaders, Perdue highlighted her long standing ties to the farm industries. Perdue, the state's lieutenant governor, talked about building the state's biotechnology industry, with an emphasis on agriculture.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)