CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Republican Congressman Ted Budd and former North Carolina Chief Justice Cheri Beasley aren't holding back in the final weeks before the 2022 election.
Both candidates are running to replace Richard Burr (R) in the U.S. Senate.
North Carolina is one of a handful of state's that could determine what party takes control of the U.S. Senate.
The latest polling from the Trafalgar Group has Budd winning with 48 percent of the vote, Beasley with 44 percent.
The two candidates have different ideas on what will be the winning issue this election season.
THE ECONOMY
Budd is hitting Democrats for their handling of the economy. It's one of the top issues for North Carolina voters in 2022. His campaign, criticizing the Biden administration for not doing enough to curb inflation.
"The fed is going to do what they can on the interest side. To slow down demand," the congressman from the 13th congressional district said. "But you have to fix the supply side and that’s energy. A lot of that is the hostile environment Joe Biden has created towards American energy production – including on day one killing the Keystone Pipeline."
Beasley says Congress can do more to reign in bigger corporations.
"We pay more for prescription medications than any other country in the world and Congress can stop that," Beasley said. "We also know that corporations are making 70 year record profits under the covering of inflation. And so they're jacking up prices on the things that we need."
ABORTION
For the Beasley campaign, they keep hitting the abortion issue, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, which had previously protected a woman's right to have an abortion.
"The question is: Who makes the decision? Is it a woman and her physician or is it politicians up in Washington?" Beasley asked rhetorically. "Congressman Budd has to understand that, in an exam room with a woman and her doctor, there is no place for him for that decision to be made."
Budd makes it clear, he supports a near total ban on abortion.
"I'm pro-life, and I have been long before politics, and I've always been about supporting life, including the life of the mother," Budd said.
WCNC Charlotte's Ben Thompson asked if Budd would allow exceptions for rape, and Budd reiterated it was about the life of the mother.
EARLY VOTING
North Carolinians can now cast their ballots as the early voting period begins.
Early voting lasts until Nov. 5 and will feature races from the US Senate to local seats like Mecklenburg County Commissioners.
There are over 20 early voting sites around Mecklenburg County including Bank of America Stadium which will have early voting, even on Oct. 23 when the Panthers play the Buccaneers.