BPR, Mountain Xpress, Smoky Mountain News to host two-day NC-11 candidate forum Sept. 4-5

Posted on by Community Bulletin
Madison Cathorn and Moe Davis
BEST IN THE WEST: Republican Madison Cawthorn, left, and Democrat Moe Davis will debate Sept. 4-5 in two NC-11 candidate forums hosted by Blue Ridge Public Radio, Mountain Xpress and Smoky Mountain News. Photos courtesy of the candidates

Press release from Smoky Mountain News:

Republican Madison Cawthorn and Democrat Moe Davis, candidates for the North Carolina congressional seat left vacant by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have both agreed to appear at a two-day joint forum hosted by three of the district’s largest media outlets.

On the evenings of Friday Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 5, candidates will join moderator Cory Vaillancourt and a diverse panel of guests for “Best in the West: North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District Forum.”

The first event, to be held at Western Carolina University’s Biltmore Park instructional site, will feature questions by Lenoir-Rhyne University Equity and Diversity Institute developer Aisha Adams, former Asheville Citizen Times political reporter and current Mountain Xpress contributor Mark Barrett and Pete Kaliner, longtime N.C. political reporter, radio host and podcaster. Topics will include international, national, state and urban issues.

The second event, to be held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, will include WCU political science and public affairs department chair Chris Cooper, WCU professor of economics and director of WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise Edward Lopez and Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Topics will include rural issues, native issues and education.

Due to venue capacity limits currently in place, events will not be open to the public but will be livestreamed. Specific times and instructions on how to watch will be published in the coming days.

For more information, contact Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Cory Vaillancourt at 912-508-5640 or cory@smokymountainnews.com.

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About Community Bulletin
Mountain Xpress posts selected news and information of local interest as a public service for our readers. To submit press releases and other community material for possible publication, email news@mountainx.com.
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3 thoughts on “BPR, Mountain Xpress, Smoky Mountain News to host two-day NC-11 candidate forum Sept. 4-5”

  2. luther blissett

    The second panel is weird given the topics under discussion.

    Prof Cooper and Principal Chief Sneed don’t have any obvious partisan leanings. On the other hand, Prof Lopez is “BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism”, a position endowed as part of John Allison’s desire to teach “Atlas Shrugged” as if it’s a great book, and the WCU Center for the Study of Free Enterprise was created with a $2 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation. But, you know, campus indoctrination.

    https://www.bpr.org/post/koch-controversy-resurfaces-wcu-amid-new-research

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