Raleigh: Sen. Hillary Clinton finally got some good aftereffect of her Penn win when the North Carolina Governor Mike Easley decided to endorse her, bringing her the much needed the support of the state's Democratic top brass to help her beat Sen. Barack Obama in the state's May 6 primary.

Easley, who had initially supported former North Carolina senator John Edwards during his second bid for the White House, became the second superdelegate from North Carolina to endorse Clinton, while six of the state's 17 superdelegates have pledged to support Obama.

Easley, who’s a Democratic superdelegate who has served as the state's governor for two terms, decided to endorse Clinton despite several polls showing the New York senator trailing Obama in North Carolina.

Clinton’s advisor in NC said, "I think it's a tremendous boost to the campaign and its a reaffirmation of the momentum that we have in the state and a reaffirmation of Sen. Clinton's message and its importance ... to the people of North Carolina.” Hendrickson reported that the formal endorsement event was scheduled for Tuesday in Raleigh.

According to Elon University Poll Director Hunter Bacot, the endorsement may help move Clinton's numbers a few percentage points, but will only serve to solidify support among conservative Democrats such as Easley.

Bacot said, "I think it will help her attract the type of voters she's been attracting throughout her campaign — usually the moderate to lower-income white vote, particularly in more rural areas. She's been strong in that demographic throughout."