Staffers working for the Democratic governor of swing-state North Carolina have been using embargoed federal data for political advantage, putting state employees at risk of jail time, according to emails uncovered by the free-market John Locke Foundation. Republicans jumped on the news to demand explanations from embattled Gov. Beverly Purdue, whose declining poll ratings may stymie President Barack Obama’s campaign to win the state’s crucial 15 electoral votes in November 2012.