In November 2008, North Carolina Democrats narrowly won their fifth consecutive gubernatorial race, electing Bev Perdue to the Governor's Mansion.

In six months, Perdue has seen her popularity tank, and she now clocks in at a dismal 25% approval.  This is just a bad time to be in charge of a state.  The good news for Democrats is that she doesn't have to run for re-election for three years.

The bad news for Democrats is that Perdue's unpopularity could eventually put their control of the state house at risk.  Republicans need to pick up 5 state senate seats and 9 state house seats to take control.  This, in turn, could cause problems for the state's congressional and state house delegations, as one imagines that having Republicans in total control of redistricting would not result in districts that look like this (at least not districts that look like that and tend to elect Democrats).

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