From Staff Reports 

BRASSTOWN — There were not many substantive political differences expressed between U.S Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-Flat Rock, and his Republican challenger Christian Reagan, during the only debate between them on Jan. 13 at the Brasstown Community Civic Center here.

Both candidates said they would stop aiding Ukraine’s war effort, noting that it is secondary to securing the U.S. Southern border and other Republican priorities.

A notable point in the debate occurred when Reagan, glancing at Edwards standing nearby, asserted, “people like this, who are the elite, that represent Washington, D.C., and they come here, and they have the jargon, and they have it down. And the point is that we have to change what we do as a country.

“And,” gesturing toward Edwards, Reagan added, “we will never do it with people like this.” 

At that point in the debate, the website Asheville Watchdog stated the following:

“Edwards exploded, nearly shouting back with a deeply personal story of his own modest upbringing in Henderson County.

“‘I lived in mill housing; I lived in trailers and I worked my tail off all my life, just as my mother and father did,’ Edwards said, staring at Reagan.

“‘There is nothing elite,’ he said, almost spitting  the word out, ‘about this person who has asked to go to Congress to represent you because I understand how hard people in these mountains work and what it takes to live the American dream.

“‘I totally reject anyone who says that I am elite,’ Edwards sputtered. ‘My wife and I once went and found 83 cents so we could buy kerosene for our house so we could keep our house warm through the night and I could get paid the next day. That is not elite.’

“Taken aback, Reagan initially said, ‘I did not say the word elite,’ but later conceded that he had and apologized to Edwards. Whatever remaining fire Reagan may have had for continuing an attack on Edwards appeared to drain from him,” the Asheville Watchdog reported.