NC District 11 Dems talk about winning outside Buncombe County скачать в хорошем качестве

NC District 11 Dems talk about winning outside Buncombe County

With four days to go before the primary election, Democrats across western North Carolina prepare to decide who will represent their party in the race for Congress. Now, the focus shifts to electability, whether they believe they can win in November and what strategy they have to make that happen, particularly when it comes to building support beyond heavily Democratic Buncombe County. Jamie Ager Ager said his campaign centers on reconnecting the Democratic Party with working people across the district. “You know, the Democratic Party has, in my life, been the party of working people,” Ager said. “Part of my job, as part of this campaign, is to remind folks everywhere that what I want to do for western North Carolina is support everybody.” Ager said that means showing up in communities, listening to voters’ concerns and focusing on improving the lives of working families rather than what he called the “billionaire class.” Richard Hudspeth Richard Hudspeth, onetime CEO of Blue Ridge Community Health Services, pointed to his longstanding work across the district, particularly in health care, as the foundation of his outreach strategy. “I’ve been traveling our district long before I ever entered this race,” Hudspeth said. “If every patient who had a great experience at Blue Ridge said, ‘Wow, he did something for me,’ if those 80,000 people come out and vote, I win. Hands down.” Hudspeth said he believes the relationships he has built through his professional work will translate into votes across county lines. Zelda Briarwood At 35 years old, Zelda Briarwood is making generational change the centerpiece of her campaign. “It is 100 percent time for generational change,” she said, noting that younger voters often feel underrepresented in Washington. Briarwood said many young people look to Capitol Hill and “barely see anyone that represents them - that looks like them - that actually has experience in that generation.” Her strategy, she said, is to send a simple message to would-be younger voters: if you want to increase representation, increase engagement. “You want to know how you get the younger generations involved? Its representation. Plain and simple,” Briarwood said. Lee Whipple Lee Whipple said he believes he can compete for rural voters who may not traditionally back Democratic candidates. “I’m one of the candidates who appeals to rural voters,” Whipple said, noting his support for the Second Amendment and his connection to local music communities. Whipple said that when he interacts with voters in rural settings, he earns their respect, which he believes will help broaden his coalition beyond more urban areas. Paul Maddox Paul Maddox said his strategy is rooted in direct, in-person outreach. “I have been reaching them. That’s what I do every day,” Maddox said, referencing time spent walking the streets and talking with residents in counties such as Avery, Mitchell, Yancey and McDowell. He acknowledged the district’s size makes it challenging to reach every community but said he is committed to meeting voters where they are. “Our district’s a big district and it’s not so easy to reach all of them,” Maddox said. “I apologize if I haven’t gotten to your neighborhood, but I will, if you give me enough time.” -- Voters will decide in just a few days which of these five Democrats will move on to represent their party in the general election. _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook:   / news13   WLOS ABC 13 News on X: https://x.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram:   / wlos_13   Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Cha... For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit www.wlos.com Stream our newscasts LIVE: www.wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: news@wlos.com Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 -- WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954. This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com