Thom Tillis

On Tuesday, the polls will open, ballots will be cast and the victors of the 2014 midterm elections will be known...we hope.

Historically, the turnout in midterm elections is low. Whichever candidate or party can best mobilize their base is the victor.  It’s what’s known as the ground game. And there is a science behind the strategy.

Don’t let the calm nature of Bruce Epperson fool you. The 42-year-old is on a hunt. "I’m on Danview Avenue, 2800 block."

Election week is finally upon us.  Ben Bradford, Tom Bullock and Lisa Worf talk about what the Democratic and Republican candidates for Senate have accomplished in their political careers.  We also talk about the sales tax referendum on Mecklenburg County ballots - what it goes for and how it got on the ballot in the first place. 

When asked her top accomplishment in Washington, Senator Kay Hagan starts with the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

From the 1950s to ‘80s, Marines and their families stationed at the base unwittingly used drinking water laced with chemicals like benzene. Along with Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC)—both North Carolina Republicans—Hagan pushed legislation to give medical care to those exposed.

Republican Senate Candidate Tillis: A Primer

“I met with generals,” she recalls. “We met with the commandant of the Marine Corps. We met with every entity you can imagine that had some sort of input.”

On Thursday, WFAE will take a similar look at the Democratic incumbent, Senator Kay Hagan.

The Republican challenger in the U.S. Senate race, Thom Tillis, has had a hand in every new law in North Carolina the past four years. As Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Tillis decides what bills the House votes on. Along with Senate leader Phil Berger and Governor Pat McCrory, he has led a conservative shift, which has touched nearly every aspect of state law. But, Tillis says, he has had one overarching focus:

“Working to get our economy back on track by repealing regulations that didn’t make sense and reducing taxes so businesses have more money to grow,” Tillis says.

Democratic Senate Candidate Hagan: A Primer

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Senator Kay Hagan on Saturday in Charlotte on Hagan's "early voting tour."

About 2,000 people showed up to hear Clinton speak at the Charlotte Convention Center. Clinton urged women to vote and said there need to be more women like Senator Kay Hagan in Washington.

Twelfth Congressional District Candidate Alma Adams of Greensboro was the warm-up act. She said Republican extremists have taken over the state legislature. She called state House Speaker Thom Tillis an "Uncle Tom." 

“Tar Heeled and Feathered” is the headline of a report released Thursday.

No, it’s not about any scandal at Chapel Hill.

Instead, the study from the Center for Public Integrity focuses on new dubious distinctions for the U.S. Senate race between Kay Hagan and Thom Tillis.

Normally, when a high profile politician sits down with a news program, it’s billed as an interview. If the politician in question is a big enough name, it’s called an exclusive. 

But Tuesday night, when Thom Tillis took his seat on the set of Capital Tonight on Time Warner News, it was billed as a debate. Then, after some behind the scenes drama, it went from a debate to something else.

  Come Election Day, the candidate who’s listed first on the ballot has an advantage. At least that’s the conventional wisdom. But a new survey from Elon University casts doubt on that logic, and that could be good news this November for Democratic U.S. Senator Kay Hagan in her race against Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis.

WFAE’s Duncan McFadyen joins Morning Edition Host Marshall Terry with more about the poll.