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Everyone needs a haircut now and then, no matter whom they want to be the next president. That’s why Jackie Ruggiero tries to steer clear of politics when she works the second chair at Rob’s Barbershop on Main Street in Jamestown. Heated discussions don’t make for good haircuts — or repeat business.

But there’s always that one customer determined to chew over the subject, like an older gentleman whose haircut was in its final snips. He asked a younger man who had just stepped into the shop how he might vote. The younger man allowed as how he would probably back Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain.

“The older man, you could see it, he turned red and he just went off ... about the differences and how Obama was a bad person,” Ruggiero said. “He got so riled — and he was just in this young guy’s face telling him he was not American if he voted that way. He ran out without his jacket and without paying for the haircut.”

For the record, the older man did go back to pay, collect his coat and dispense another volley of opinion. Such scenes, Ruggiero said, are becoming more common as Election Day approaches.

Throughout the state, supporters are turning out to candidate rallies by the hundreds and thousands. Folks who never so much as donned a campaign button are canvassing for votes. Simple chitchat can turn heated in a flash. At an Obama rally in Fayetteville, the tires of about 30 cars were slashed, and police arrested an Obama supporter for disorderly conduct when Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin spoke at Elon University. On both sides, emotions are running high.

Casual observers and political scientists alike say North Carolina voters are more emotionally invested in the battle between McCain and Obama than other presidential elections in recent memory.

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Kerry Haynie, a political science professor at Duke University, says this began in the primaries.

“The Clinton-Obama race for the Democratic nomination raised the level of emotion, and that has carried over into the general election,” Haynie said.

When the first states held primaries early in the year, few expected North Carolina’s May contest to matter. Surely, the logic went, either New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama or one of the other rivals would have their party’s nomination in hand before then.

Instead, Clinton and Obama remained deadlocked and criss-crossed North Carolina, building organizations. Once he collected the nomination, Obama retooled his North Carolina operation for the general election, complete with campaign offices, television advertising and a network of supporters ready to press his cause.

Shifts in the national political scene and inroads by Democrats forced McCain to spend money and time here. McCain and Palin find themselves fighting for a state that hasn’t given its electoral votes to a Democrat since 1976.

Many North Carolina voters have never lived in a battleground state, so this is the first time they’ve been exposed to the brunt of a presidential campaign and the emotional ride that comes with it.

Certainly, North Carolina has seen high-profile contests. In some ways, the bitterly contested campaigns between former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt foreshadowed the intensity of this presidential campaign.

And the undertone of race in those elections — Gantt is African American, as is Obama — echoes today.

“To me, it’s because it’s more a black-and-white thing, and that always tends to get people riled up,” Ruggiero said of the intensity of conversation in the barbershop.

Both campaigns, Haynie said, have treaded lightly around race.

“It’s not talked about much, but it’s there. It’s clearly on the minds of voters and political operatives,” Haynie said.

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Ossie Edwards , a retired nurse from Greensboro and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, is excited.

“We’re just in a remarkable time now,” said Edwards, who never thought she would see a fellow African American anywhere close to winning the White House. That Obama is African American isn’t a reason to vote for or against him, she said, but it would be extra reason to celebrate if he were to win.

Polls indicate race is influencing at least some voting decisions. According to Gallup, about 91 percent of African American voters say they have a strong preference for Obama, vs. 44 percent of white voters. The same polls show Hispanic voters tend to favor Obama, too.

As with all advantages, there is a flip side to Obama’s race and family background.

“There’s just a lot of rumors and misinformation being passed along,” said Nicole Hitchcock, a Wilmington resident who attended a small Democratic rally there the same day that McCain addressed a larger gathering.

“Things that are simply not addressing issues, but another way to generate fear — like Obama is a Muslim, that he’s the Antichrist, all these ridiculous concepts,” Hitchcock said. “We live in a part of the state where people actually believe those things.”

Later the same day, in line at the McCain rally, Jim Whitworth, 44, described himself as a former Clinton supporter who could not back Obama.

Whitworth, of Wilmington, held a sign that compared Obama to terrorist Osama bin Laden and disgraced former state Rep. Thomas Wright, a Wilmington Democrat convicted on corruption charges earlier this year. It is not Obama’s race, he said, but the candidate’s views on race that put him off.

“I was just reading excerpts out of one of Obama’s books, and I have found him to be a devout racist,” Whitworth said. “I believed Sen. Clinton and Sen. Biden back during the primary when they told me he was wrong and it was a dangerous decision, and I believe it today.”

However voters talk about and around race, it’s not something either campaign is tackling head-on. In turn, Haynie said, race is rarely discussed in news coverage of the election, despite its potential to play a role in the outcome.

“It’s amazing that you only see passing reference to what appears to be large numbers of new black voters and other minority voters being registered,” Haynie said. “These voters may make the difference in the election.”

Haynie also raised a caveat that race may not be as big of a factor as people might expect.

“Race doesn’t play the same for younger generations, who are voting for the first or second time this election,” Haynie said. “They’ve grown up seeing blacks in important positions like secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs.”

Other demographic connections have helped draw voters into the election, said N.C. State political science professor Craig Smith . The Republican and Democratic primaries featured well-regarded candidates who represented a variety of groups, including Hispanics, Mormons, women, African Americans, veterans and senior citizens.

“You’ve got lots of different groups being tapped into,” Smith said. “So the notion of this 50-ish, Protestant white guy is something we don’t have this year. We’re reaching into different pockets of the electorate who can say, 'Hey, there’s someone like me.’ I don’t think it’s as much about identity politics as it is about having someone who has experienced life more the way they’ve experienced it.”

And even if the candidate those voters felt closest to dropped out of the election, they’ve remained interested.

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The Republicans’ Victory 2008 office in High Point is a repurposed storefront nestled among dry cleaners, a gas station, restaurants and other strip-mall shops. A big American flag and copies of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence adorn the walls. Life-size cutouts of McCain and Palin greet visitors.

On a recent afternoon, Mark Valenti , 22, began his shift calling voters, asking them to support McCain on Election Day.

“I’m just starting my career, my adult life. When I look at the two candidates and Obama’s plans, what it says to me is no matter how hard I try, there’s a ceiling on my success. That doesn’t give me hope,” said Valenti, a GTCC student. “I might be lucky enough to land my dream job and earn $249,000 per year, but no more without being taxed in the extreme.”

Valenti was referring to a recent point of contention between the campaigns. McCain has criticized not only the structure of Obama’s tax plan, but also comments the Democrat made defending it, telling the now-famous “Joe the Plumber” that when “you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Republicans seized on that line, which touched a nerve with small-business owners in particular.

“Anytime you hear anyone saying they want to spread the wealth around ... it goes back to a socialistic tenet, and it goes against everything America stands for,” said April Byrd , who owns Solid as a Rock Construction in Charlotte and spoke during news conferences on behalf of the McCain campaign last week.

She is among McCain supporters who said they thought their livelihoods would be threatened by Obama’s tax policies.

“This is a defensive vote this year, more than anything else,” said Joe Ziolkowski, a furniture industry consultant who lives in Sedgefield.

Ziolkowski stood in line for early voting at Jamestown Town Hall. It’s the first time, he said, that he has had to wait to cast an early ballot.

Ziolkowski backed Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the primary but now fully supports McCain. He, too, described Obama’s plans as socialism.

Conventional political wisdom says that wars and the economy dominate decisions in a national campaign. The recent stock market slide, problems in the housing market and bank failures have dominated the news, even overcoming discussion of which candidate would better handle wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“If you look back eight years, the nation was at peace; the economy was in relatively good shape,” said N.C. State’s Smith. “So in 2000, there were all these domestic issues that were being discussed.”

Issues such as abortion are unlikely to rise to the top of the election conversation now, he said. But some voters still cite domestic issues as key reasons they are supporting or working for a candidate.

“I’m very pro-life, for one thing,” said Loretta McManus , 73, of Wilmington. Standing in line for McCain’s appearance there , she was helping to hold up a banner that read, “Read my lipstick — Women for McCain.”

A number of voters supporting the McCain-Palin ticket cite their anti-abortion view as a reason for actively backing the candidate.

Back at the Victory 2008 office in High Point, Mike Womble, 41, who works in a lab for a textile company, said McCain’s position on abortion is important.

“As a Christian ... that’s a really big issue for me,” said Womble, taking a break from the phone bank. It was just one of several issues he ticked off in quick succession.

“The whole issue with same-sex marriages, I’m totally against that. Pulling out of Iraq — McCain will tell you that he’s not for the war, but we can’t just go in there and rip troops out right away without some pretty heavy repercussions. ... I don’t think our job there is finished. And just for the economy, too.”

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On recent sunny Saturday, Jay Anderson stood momentarily confused by the numbering scheme on Windale Court, a short neighborhood street just off West Vandalia Road. After finding his bearings, Anderson began knocking on doors.

Anderson, an aircraft mechanic for Timco, said he is sacrificing time on the golf links to canvass for Obama.

“My score (was) coming down fast, so I can’t wait to get back to it,” said the father of two, who also gives up time with his family to work on the campaign. Anderson said his wife helps him make time.

“It’s something I’m passionate about, so she understands,” he said. “And it’s just until the election.”

Anderson said he had never volunteered for a campaign, but for about three months now he has given up parts of weekends and the occasional weeknight to stump for Obama. So how does someone who voted for President Bush in 2000 find himself going door-to-door for Obama in 2008?

“That’s the thing about Obama,” Anderson said. “He’s got a lot of different people for him.”

Anderson said he flirted with the idea of backing McCain for about a week. But after comparing the two candidates’ policies, he was firmly in Obama’s camp. He said s eeing Obama speak on television “inspired” him to get involved.

Many people — Republican and Democrat — are finding themselves working, donating and otherwise paying attention to the presidential campaign this year in ways they haven’t before.

Part of that, N.C. State’s Smith said, can be chalked up to President Bush’s precipitous slide in popularity coupled with the war and economic problems. Voters who might have written off the choices in 2000 and 2004 as equally good or bad see reason to step into the campaign this year.

“Now they’re looking at it and saying that yes, everything matters. That’s the kind of thing that has people getting engaged,” he said.

That engagement and emotional investment, Smith said, bring with them a soon-to-be urgent question. On Election Day, one side will win and the other will lose. Can the next president win over his opponent’s supporters, who will be just as let down as backers of the winner will be buoyed?

“In either case, there’s going to be real resentment,” Smith said. “It’s going to be difficult to reconcile and make up after this.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com