THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996            TAG: 9611020281
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: By MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

HUNT HOLDS WIDE LEAD, WITH 59% TO HAYES' 33%

Democratic Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. is sitting comfortably in the catbird seat in his race for re-election, a poll showed Friday.

Hunt has the support of 59 percent of the North Carolina electorate, the Mason-Dixon survey commissioned by The Virginian-Pilot reported, while Robin Hayes, his Republican opponent from Concord, N.C., claims 33 percent.

Only 8 percent of voters said they were undecided in the governor's race.

More women said they would vote for Hunt than men, 63 percent to 55 percent. Surprisingly, 26 percent of the Republicans polled said they would support the Democratic governor, as did 63 percent of the Independents.

Hayes, a member of a wealthy textile family, is a member of the state House of Representatives.

But the biggest upset indicated in the survey may be in the race for Secretary of State, in which Democrat Elaine Marshall, a Lillington lawyer, is running ahead of Richard Petty, the stock car star.

Marshall has a 33-point disadvantage in name recognition, but the Mason-Dixon poll showed she has a 46 percent to 39 percent lead over Petty. Months ago Republicans decided that Petty's awesome image around the North Carolina racing circuit would make him an easy winner against Marshall.

But the poll showed that Petty was known to 95 percent of prospective N.C. voters, but only 39 percent of those questioned said they have a favorable opinion of him and 31 percent have an unfavorable view.

Marshall's name is recognized favorably by 35 percent of the voters while only 6 percent have an unfavorable view of her, the poll showed.

Chances are favorable that a school bond issue will be approved by voters, the poll showed, but the success of another bond issue to finance highway construction ``appears more likely to fail,'' the poll reported. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.

KEYWORDS: POLL SURVEY NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR'S RACE by CNB