Gov. Beverly Perdue’s surprise announcement that she is not seeking a second term in office prompted media outlets to seek reaction and analysis from John Locke Foundation President John Hood. He discussed Perdue’s decision with the Charlotte Observer, Winston-Salem Journal, Hickory Daily Record, and WXII Television. Hood’s latest contributions to National Review Online’s primary blog, “The Corner,” focused on Perdue‘s announcement, along with other hot-button topics such as Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, the State of the Union speech, and Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate. NRO’s Jim Geraghty drew attention to Hood’s work with a tweet urging Romney to “Please read John Hood.” It’s not clear that Romney has taken Geraghty’s advice, but nationally syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt cited Hood’s analysis during an interview with Romney this week. At the state level, N.C. Senate Republicans promoted Hood’s columns this week on transportation spending, a Center-Right path to economic recovery, and North Carolina’s broken unemployment insurance system.