Fjeld, Walker Debate For The First Time

The first debate between US Representative candidates in the 6th District, Republican Mark Walker and Democrat Laura Fjeld, is Thursday.

The race has seen many twists so far. For starters, the race to succeed Howard Coble in Congress started when Coble's hand-picked successor Phil Berger Junior lost to Greensboro Baptist pastor Walker in a bitter Republican runoff, and Fjeld has raised the most money of any of the 6th District candidates.

Fjeld still faces a steep climb to pull off a victory in the central North Carolina district anchored by half of Greensboro and Burlington and several Virginia border counties.

The district favored Republicans up and down the ballot in 2012. UNC-Greensboro professor David Holian says Fjeld has run a good campaign but is running in a midterm election in a district where President Obama's popularity isn't great.