Campaign manager Martin Avila said Rep. David Price, D-N.C., up for re-election this year, was not ready to run a campaign.
Avila, campaign manager for Republican candidate B.J. Lawson, said Price "was expecting to coast into this [race] just like he has in the races against every Republican candidate in the last 10 years."
He said Lawson has succeeded in inciting Price to campaign hard this year, which he said shows that Lawson has considerable support.
But Price said the hype surrounding Lawson's campaign is publicity, not support.
"Oh, I don't know how much support [Lawson] has," Price said. "What has given his campaign more visibility than most recently is simply that they had a lot of money dumped on it by this out-of-state Ron Paul network, that's the only difference."
Lawson's campaign has received endorsement from Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas and the fourth-place candidate in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.
First elected to Congress in the 4th District in 1987, Price lost to Republican Fred Heineman in 1994. He regained his seat in 1996 and has served six continuous terms since. Prior to 1996, however, Durham was not part of the 4th Congressional District.
Price said Lawson is a more extreme opponent than he has ever had, and Lawson's interpretation of the Constitution does not hold much support. He added that some of the points Lawson brings up about how the Constitution should be followed "might have been a debate a hundred years ago," but are no longer relevant.
"According to [Lawson's] reading, no safety net, no student aid of any kind, no involvement in education at all, no federal support of research," Price said.
But Lawson said Congress does not have the money to provide loans to citizens. His plan involves reducing the size of government and slowing spending, which he says will put more money in the hands of regular people and jump-start the economy.
"We're just not moving in a sustainable direction," Lawson said.
He pointed to former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker's resignation as an indicator that the government needs serious reforms in financial policy. Lawson said he will work to eliminate budget deficit.
"Debt is like amphetamines," Lawson said. "You can hook yourself up and get wired, but eventually you will require more and more drugs to get the same effect."
Lawson does not support Congress' recent $700-billion-dollar economic stimulus package, which Price voted for.
Price said his years on the House Appropriations Committee, of which he is chair, have been spent making important decisions about how to spend tax dollars to benefit Americans. He said some of the work in Congress he is most proud of include his participation in balancing the budget in the 1990s and initiatives for low-interest loans for higher education. Price is also a member of the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
"There are a number of things on appropriations that I can do for the state-and there's plenty of reason to believe that it is an important position for the people of our state for me to be on it," Price said. "And that is why I have fought so hard to get there."
The two candidates also clash when it comes to social issues. Lawson does not support federal loans for higher education, which he said start students out in debt, and he is pro-life, which Price said goes against Lawson's support of hands-off government.
"When it comes to reproductive choice he's very happy to have government dictate," Price said.
Lawson, who said he believes that the "fundamental function of the government is to protect people," also does not support the death penalty. He opposes the U.S.A. Patriot Act, a piece of legislation for which Price originally voted. Price did not support reauthorizing provisions of the law in 2005.
Although the race is not yet decided, political analysts have said Price has a fairly safe race, but polling institutes have not been following the race so reliable statistics have not been made available. Public Policy Polling spokesperson Tom Jensen told The (Durham) Herald-Sun that "we think there's no reason to bother." In the 2006 election, Price had a comfortable majority with 65 percent of the vote.
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Avila, however, said the race was not a lock, and voters are looking hard at their government representatives.
"When you have thousands of people calling David Price's office, and you go to his office the weekend of the bailout and it is closed, that really says something," he said.