Democratic lieutenant governor hopeful and Canton mayor Pat Smathers has made it clear — win or lose, his campaign for state office has been one heck of a ride.

He’s crisscrossed the state multiple times in the past few months to share his message of giving power back to local communities. Along the way, he’s reconnected with his family — “I’ve spent more time with my wife in the past year in the car than I have in a long time,” he says — and forged ties with other candidates seeking state office.

“It’s sort of like a little cubby of candidates moving around the state. We all end up in the same place from time to time. It’s been really enjoyable getting to know all the other candidates on a statewide basis,” says Smathers, 54. “I’m sort of going to miss that camaraderie.”

One of Smathers’ favorite stories about life on the road is the time he, wife Sherry and other candidates were at an event that got canceled. The group decided they would attend an event in another town instead. However, the event was formal, and Smathers’ wife didn’t have the proper attire. So Kristin Ruth, a judge running for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, swung by her house to grab a coat and shoes for Mrs. Smathers to borrow.

Smathers is one of four Democrats seeking the lieutenant governor’s job, which is often viewed in North Carolina as a stepping stone to the governor’s office. At least two of the other hopefuls have spent a lot of money and financed statewide campaigns, while Smathers has spent almost no money.

Smathers says he’s learned a lot these past several months. For instance, he’s a populist — or at least that’s the title that has been bestowed on him by media around the state due to his platform of giving power to the local people. Not that he minds that designation.

“If that means putting people’s interests first, stamp that on my forehead,” Smathers quips. “My message is very much putting funding and authority back to where the people are.”

His travels have also taught the mayor much about North Carolina as a state.

“It’s been really fun going everywhere and seeing how diverse and neat our state is, because oftentimes we just go to the same places over and over,” he says. During Smathers’ tour, he hit many small and medium-sized towns in the piedmont and eastern part of the state.

Smathers has spent a good portion of his time campaigning in the big cities as well, where he has less name recognition than some of the other candidates. He’s directed zero dollars toward television advertising, so speaking to as many individuals as possible has been a crucial part of his campaign.

Though Smathers has been faring well in polls, he hasn’t received endorsements. In contrast, Candidate Hampton Dellinger, a Durham-based lawyer for the high profile firm Womble Carlyle, has heavily touted endorsements he’s received from former Vice President Al Gore and several civil rights groups.

Smathers says endorsements matter little in the scheme of things. In fact, he’s become disenchanted with the endorsement process and says it needs to be changed.

In order to receive an endorsement, candidates fill out surveys sent by different organizations. The questions on the survey are supposed to be issue-based. However, Smathers said on at least two different surveys he received, the number one questions were how much money and how big of a staff a candidate had.

“When you have statewide organizations writing you and asking you do you believe this, what is your position — but first, how much money do you have, that says volumes,” Smathers says.

Additionally, organizations that claim to represent a large segment of the population can be made up of as few as 50 people, leading to questions of how accurately their views translate to the views of the public, says Smathers.

In the end, “If you see endorsements, you should take them with a grain of salt. A lot of times there’s a lot of backdoor stuff being done, and a lot of behind the scenes stuff that goes on,” he says. “(This) has re-emphasized for me the importance of getting money out of the election process.”

So how has Smathers’ message of giving power back to the local level resonated with voters?

On BlueNC.com, a Web site that has become an important forum of discussion about all things Democrat in North Carolina, several bloggers shared their views.

“I heard all four candidates speak at a Democratic event, and Smathers is the only one who stated a platform,” wrote one blogger on April 7.

He “will bring real change because he is not part of the party establishment in Raleigh,” wrote another the same day.

Smathers recently won a straw poll in the 10th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of central and western North Carolina. He’s also received support from the eastern part of the state, home to several military bases. Smathers is a veteran, and hoped to win over that demographic.

Still, Smathers knows he’ll have to garner votes in the biggest cities in order to win the race.

“It’s going to depend a lot on how things go in the bigger cities. That is such a tough market to break and get into and it’s so big and hard to read. If I continue to do well in the west and be competitive in the big cities, then I’ll be just fine,” he says.

Regardless of the outcome May 6, Smathers says he’ll come out ahead.

“I could be beaten like a drum, but for me, in all honesty, having gone through this and everything, I think I’m going to be a winner whether I get the most votes or not,” he says.