. >> reporter: "sacramento bee" columnist dan walters has been watching california governors since jerryown's first term. >> even though he is 72, i still think of him in many ways like i did then, as kind of a kid and as a... kind of a precocious child, kind of a perpetual college sophomore, you know, always flitting from thing to thing to thing. and he's all excited about one thing one day, and all excited about something else the next day. >> reporter: so far, brown has raised $33 million, although independent groups, mostly labor, have ponied up an additional $14 million. now with the election a month away, brown's commercials-- mostly attacking whitman-- have just started hitting the air. >> meet the real meg whitman. serving on the board of goldman sachs, whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals. >> reporter: supporters of each candidate have latched onto negative slogans to deride the opposition. >> "no more reruns." >> "you can't buy our votes." >> reporter: as passionate as the supporters of each candidate are, californians in general are profoundly pessimist

so thank you very much dan walters. we really appreciate you being with us today. now we turn to north carolina where issues of taxes, the defense budget and employment are affecting voters there. and joining me is rob kristinson and author of the paradocks of tar he'll politics. hanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> so paradox. for many decades there was the old south versus new south going on in north carolina. but that doesn't seem to be the case this time around. >> well, north carolina has always been a very difficult state for people to understand, how is it the state has both a john edwards and a jesse helms. the fact is state has always been a battleground state and always on the fence and doesn't take much to push it from one side to the democratic side to the republican side. it's been a very, very competitive state. the last two election cycles have gone democratics. went for obama, surprised a lot of people in 2008. also, tends to elect democratic governors. but it tends to go republican in federal races. again, in 2008 went democrat with obama, e

dan has part one of our investigation. >> walter was looking for a place to retire after a career aslant manager. place tone i don't with his grandkids. somewhere away from the pressures of life in the bay area. he thought he found it 3 hours away in yuba county. on the edge of the national forest. >> my god this is exactly what i have been looking fovrment this is perfect. >>reporter: s he liked the mountains. the wild life and the clean air. but he also laibingd the deal. >> up there the life savings we could build a house and the taxes are less than 400 dollars a year. >>reporter: he sank his life savings into this house. it is almost finish show up and. a pot plantation door. completely done. >>reporter: overnight his new neighbors brought in a truck load of top soil and set up rows of marijuana just feet from his living room. it is now harvest time. the plants are 10 feet tall. >> not anything i want my kids around. or my grand kids around. >>reporter: we wanted to talk to yuba officials about this pot farm but the officials all declined to be interviewed on camera. by phone i w

shasta county and dan went to a county that is not even in the top 10 to show you how pot farms are spreading across the state. >>reporter: walterng for a place to retire after career as a plant manager. place to enjoy with his grandkids. somewhere away from the pressures of life in the bay area. he thought he found it 3 hours away in yuba county. on the edge of the national foyvrmingt this is exactly what i have been looking for. this is perfect. >>reporter: he liked the mountain. the wild life. and the clean air. but he also liked the deal. >> up there life savings we can build a house and the taxes are less than 400 dollars a year. >>reporter: he sank the life savings into this house. it's almost finished. >> one day you show up. there was a pot plantation next door. completely done. >>reporter: overnight the new neighbors brought in a truck load of top soil and set up rows of marijuana just feet from his living room. it is now harvest time. the plants are 10 feet tall. >> it is not anything i want my kids around. anything i weren't my grandkids around. >>reporter: we wanted to talk to yuba county officials about the pot farm