State Sen. Fred Smith has released polling information suggesting that his old-fashioned grassroots campaign is paying political dividends.

His gubernatorial campaign released a survey of 400 Republican voters in the 40 counties where he has held barbecue dinners, Rob Christensen reports.

The campaign found that Smith had 54 percent name recognition, compared to 51 percent for Salisbury attorney Bill Graham and 47 percent for former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr.

The survey also found that Smith had much higher favorable ratings than his opponents. The survey found Smith leading in those areas with 30 percent compared to 18 percent for Graham and 11 percent for Orr.

In the counties where he has campaigned, "you've made significant inroads there," wrote Whit Ayres, Smith's pollster, in a memo.

The poll was taken Oct. 15-18 and had a margin of error of 4.9 percent.