I write in my Daily Journal column today about Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory’s entry into the Republican gubernatorial race. One issue I meant to explore in a little more detail is the size of McCrory’s base in North Carolina’s largest media market.

I am hardly a subscriber to the Charlotte curse, but the region’s political influence is often exaggerated, for two reasons. First, the Charlotte media market is indeed the largest, but media markets know no political boundaries. A good chunk of the folks who know who McCrory is from the evening news live in South Carolina.

Second, turnout in the Charlotte area has run a bit lower than in the Triangle area. In 2004, for example, Wake County outpolled Mecklenburg by some 25,000 votes in the presidential race. I’ll write more on the subject later in the week.