Shuler camp presses message that change is needed

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

It’s 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, and Andrew Whalen, 11th Congressional District candidate Heath Shuler’s Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director, sits at a small desk in a small office strewn with small stacks of paper.

Candidates share similar views on immigration

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series on campaign issues in the 11th District Congressional race between Republican Congressman Charles Taylor and Democratic challenger Health Shuler.

Voters looking to the topic of immigration reform to help decide who to vote for in the Nov. 7 race for the 11th District congressional seat will be hard pressed to find any philosophical differences between the two candidates.

Taylor vs. Shuler: In the hot seat

By Michael Beadle

Editor’s note: From today until the election on Nov. 7, The Smoky Mountain News will run a series of articles on issues we have asked Rep. Charles Taylor and challenger Heath Shuler to address.

As U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor battles former football star Health Shuler for a seat in Congress, will discontent over the war in Iraq prove to be a key issue in determining the outcome of the election? Will Taylor’s seniority in Washington trump his critics?

Race a ‘toss up’

The race between U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard, and challenger Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, was reclassified from “Leans Republican” to “Toss Up” by the Cook Political Report in late June. The Cook Political Report is a respected national non-partisan political analysis and polling newsletter.

First negative ad runs in Taylor, Shuler race

The first negative campaign ad hit the airwaves last week in the close-heat Congressional race between U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard, and Heath Shuler, his Democratic challenger.

Morgan runs to win: Swannanoa candidate says he’ll beat Shuler in Democratic primary

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Michael Morgan sits at a table near the back of Malaprop’s Bookstore Café in Asheville eating from an unlabeled can of applesauce, his 6-foot plus lanky frame casually folded, one leg across the other. He’s dressed in khaki pants and a natural colored striped polo shirt, a short necklace peeking out from its open collar and a small diamond stud earring in his left lobe.

National forest proposal provides fodder for Taylor-Shuler race

By Becky Johnson and Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writers

A plan to sell off more than 6,500 acres of the national forests in Western North Carolina has galvanized strong opposition in recent weeks, laying the issue at the feet of WNC congressional candidates U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard, and challenger Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville.

Their response has varied, however. Shuler has condemned the proposal, while Taylor has adopted a non-committal stance.

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