CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Richard Vinroot was the Republican who likely would have been the toughest challenger for Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, an Easley strategist says.

That was one revelation that came out Friday at a forum for political strategists at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The strategists talked about how the campaigns in North Carolina this fall were won and lost, what mattered to the electorate and the discussions that took place behind closed campaign doors.

Jay Reiff, the manager of Easley's campaign, said Easley's weaknesses were the loss of manufacturing jobs and the state's budget deficits during Easley's first three years.

Vinroot could have taken advantage of those weaknesses because of his experience as the mayor of Charlotte and his lack of a long legislative record that would be subject to attack, Reiff said.

"He was a better messenger for change," he said.

Former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine beat Vinroot in the Republican primary and went on to lose to Easley by 13 percentage points, 56 percent to 43 percent.

Bob Rosser, manager of Ballantine's campaign, said the campaign was optimistic after Ballantine's come-from-behind win in the primary.

"Having had that experience, we believed all the way through" that Ballantine would beat Easley, Rosser said.

But Rosser said the delay of the Republican primary to July and the campaign's inability to raise enough money kept Ballantine from being competitive.