Candidates talk about personality at forum

Less than a month away from the May 4 primary for one of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seats, the Democratic field remains wide open.

Six candidates vying for Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr’s seat defended their positions Tuesday at a forum co-sponsored by the Chapel Hill- Carrboro branch of NAACP and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center.

ABC 11 news anchor Fred Shropshire moderated the event.

In attendance were four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination: N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, former N.C. state senator Cal Cunningham, attorney Ken Lewis and attorney Marcus Williams.

Larry Linney, who joined last minute, is seeking the Republican nomination over incumbent Burr. Rounding out the group was Libertarian Michael Beitler.

The candidates discussed their views on health care, immigration and education reform for more than two hours in the Stone Center auditorium.

By the end, it was still difficult to understand what policy stances differentiate the three Democratic frontrunners, Marshall, Cunningham and Lewis.

A survey released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling indicated that while Marshall leads the pack with the support of 23 percent of likely primary voters, the race is still wide open.

Cunningham received 17 percent and Lewis received 9 percent.

Rather than articulating their differences on issues, the Democratic frontrunners focused on their backgrounds, experiences and qualifications.

Throughout the forum, Marshall emphasized her image as a problem solver not afraid to take on serious reform.

“We’re in absolutely the worst of times,” she said. “People matter.”

Cunningham focused on civic duty, in particular his time in the military.

He served in Iraq in 2008 as a military prosecutor.

“I believe very passionately in public service,” he said.

 Lewis said he was the candidate capable of representing the diversity of interests in North Carolina.

Lewis, Cunningham and Marshall varied the most on national security issues.

Cunningham said he supported keeping resources devoted to counter-insurgency strategies in Afghanistan in order to recover the war’s momentum.

Marshall said she didn’t support the troop surge and said the war needed to address more than the situation in Afghanistan.

“If there’s a country that needs rebuilding, it’s America,” she said.

Ken Lewis took a center position, saying he advocated finishing the job of rebuilding Afghanistan, but did not support giving President Barack Obama a timeline or any other restrictions that would limit his options.



Contact the State and National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.