Thom Tillis

It was a week of firsts for North Carolina’s new U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis. The senator filed his first legislation, an amendment Thursday that would open much of the East Coast to off-shore drilling for oil and gas.

Nearly 3 million ballots were cast – but it all came down to 46,539 votes. That was enough to make Thom Tillis North Carolina’s next U.S. senator. The slim margin was painful for those gathered in Greensboro at Hagan’s election night headquarters. But the margin was irrelevant in an uptown ballroom in uptown where Tillis gave his victory speech. 

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