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Why Is North Carolina’s 2nd District So Competitive?

A photo from the televised debate between Republican incumbent George Holding and Democratic challenger Linda Coleman.
Jeff Tiberii
/
WUNC
A photo from the televised debate between Republican incumbent George Holding and Democratic challenger Linda Coleman.
A photo from the televised debate between Republican incumbent George Holding and Democratic challenger Linda Coleman.
Credit Jeff Tiberii / WUNC
/
WUNC
A photo from the televised debate between Republican incumbent George Holding and Democratic challenger Linda Coleman.

The race for North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District is one of the most competitive and expensive in the state. As of Oct. 22, more than $2.8 million had been spent on ads for the contest between Wake County Commissioner and Democrat Linda Coleman and Republican incumbent George Holding

Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii for a look at North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District race.

Yet in 2016, Holding won his seat by more than 13 percentage points in a district Donald Trump won by 10 points. So, what happened? WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii joins host Frank Stasio to analyze the race and share highlights from last night’s debate between the two candidates.

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Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.