On February 7th, Blue Ridge Public Radio held a forum with two candidates running for the Republican nomination for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Western North Carolina. All told, 11 candidates are running in the GOP primary. Each were invited to participate in two forums BPR held. This forum features two of them - Lynda Bennett and Joey Osborne. Early voting for the primary election in North Carolina runs until February 29th. Those who have not registered to vote yet will only be able to do so during the early voting period. The deadline to request an absentee by mail ballot is February 25th, and primary day is Tuesday March 3rd. Photo ID is not required to vote in the primary election. FORUM TIME CODES 1:22 - Opening Statements 6:00 - What is the biggest issue facing North Carolina's 11th Congressional District? 7:55 - The U.S. has seen an extended economic boom over the last decade, but the federal deficit has risen to record levels at the