RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina leaders in the Democratic Party are uniting to support Senator Barack Obama for president.

The North Carolina Leaders for Change gathered Monday morning at the Farmers Market in Raleigh. Healthcare and farming were hot topics but the current state of the economy, and why Obama is the best man to handle it, dominated conversation.

An historic financial crisis is giving an historic election all the more gusto. Leaders like North Carolina Senator Tony Rand and U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield took the microphone and said it’s time for a change.

“It’s obvious our world is in turmoil and we need strong leadership,” Rand said.

“John McCain sadly, simply represents another four years of George W. Bush,” Butterfield said.

Former Governor Jim Hunt pledged his support to Obama, partly because he said he deeply cares about North Carolina.

“This situation is too serious, people are concerned, they know we need a change, and they sense the strength and the wisdom of Barack Obama,” Hunt said.

Congressman Brad Miller insisted Obama has called for financial reform and has a plan for the future.

“Barack Obama in the last two or three weeks in the middle of this crisis has been solid, stable, thoughtful, mature and John McCain has been like a moth caught in a lampshade, he has been bouncing around with no particular direction,” Miller said.

But Republican State Representative Paul Stam said Obama is the one who hasn’t had direction.

“Senator Obama has had like three different versions of his plan, to get the nomination for his party he wanted the capital gains tax to go back up so high that it would actually reduce the amount of money received,” Stam said.

Stam said McCain does have an economic plan.

“Reduce taxes and he’s well known for reduced spending,” McCain said.

And while the economy became a top election issue North Carolina has become an unexpected battleground state. The latest Public Policy Polling has Barack Obama leading John McCain 50 to 44 in North Carolina.