By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. By literally running while running for office, Barbara Howe may have the race for best hook of North Carolina's political season sewn up.

The Libertarian candidate for governor has jogged in 5-kilometer increments through more than 90 of North Carolina's 100 counties as part of her campaign since kicking it off in May. The 59-year-old Oxford resident often contacts local media or stops by a diner or visitors' center to connect with voters. There, she shares her party's philosophy of a limited government that stays out of people's business.

"You can learn a lot by just listening," Howe said. "Almost all people want the same thing. They want to live their lives, they want to be able to provide for their families, they want to be able to educate their children, they want to enjoy their free time, and they don't want a lot of meddlesome rules and regulations telling them what to do."

She's run around the political block a few times, too. In her fourth bid for statewide office, Howe understands her lack of funds compared to Democratic nominee Walter Dalton and Republican Pat McCrory. She's irritated by being left out of live television debates, so the public doesn't have as much familiarity with her and her party.

It means Howe and other Libertarians are focused upon her getting at least 2 percent of the vote. The threshold is critical: Without it or a strong showing by Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, state election officials will have to decertify the party. That means having to collect 100,000 signatures of registered voters by 2016 to return to the ballot an expensive endeavor.

Howe knows there's pressure on her.

"There are several measures of victory. First is to be the next governor, but secondly would be to ensure that the Libertarian Party (officially) continues to exist," Howe said in an interview.

Howe is a Libertarian Party veteran and former chairwoman who has survived the challenges of meeting some of the strictest ballot access laws in the country. Things improved for third parties when the Legislature approved a 2006 law lowering the election threshold from 10 percent of the vote to 2 percent to remain an official party.

Duke University professor Mike Munger ran in 2008 and tallied almost 3 percent of the vote, giving the Libertarians some breathing room to raise their voter registration to a record of more than 17,000. Munger didn't run in 2012 because of health issues. That opened the door again to Howe, who was Munger's campaign manager four years ago and ran for governor herself in 2000 and 2004.

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Libertarian candidate for governor Howe running for party