Local NBC Reporter Says 'Smart' Voters for Obama, Unsure About 'Conservative' Voters

May 5th, 2008 3:36 PM

On the syndicated, "The Chris Matthews Show," Kim Genardo, a political reporter for NBC Raleigh, North Carolina affilate WNCN, predicted that "smart, educated" North Carolina primary voters wouldn't be swayed by Jeremiah Wright but was unsure how "conservative, white, rural voters" would vote as she admitted she's not, "in touch with them."

The following exchange occurred on the May 4, edition of "The Chris Matthews Show":

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's talk about North Carolina, Kim. It's where you work. He's had a big lead down there, Barack Obama. Has for weeks now.

KIM GENARDO, WNCN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Absolutely.

MATTHEWS: It's narrowing, I hear. Tell me what you hear about that race as it's shaping up. Will it be an up or down on Jeremiah Wright, not Barack?

GENARDO: Yeah. Absolutely. We've seen a lot of narrowing. Clinton might be the comeback kid here, but does she have enough to get it done? I don't think so, but it's going to be close. And, and they'll spin that as a victory anyway. But as far as Reverend Wright, we're hearing from voters there that it's not really influencing them too much. At, at least, the smart, educated pool of voters who go to the primaries, they're not buying necessarily this guilt by association. But, that being said, what about your more conservative, white, rural voters? And I don't know that I'm that in touch with them to know if that's going to make them..."

MATTHEWS: What an honest reporter you are!