I don't see any chance of a pickup. This district is a product of partisian 'Rat redistricting. Frank Ballance's likely succesor, as of now, is former Judge G.K. Butterfield, a veteran of eastern Carolina politicking. I don't know a great deal about him. Perhaps there are some Tarheel Freepers who can enlighten us.
I have a lot of hope that the GOP might be able to take District 1. My father, Jerry Williford, is running against Greg Dority. Dority had a pretty good showing in 2002 - with minimal effort and little money.
Unlike many of the District 1 Republicans, who have made Democrats the sworn enemy - Jerry is appealing to everyone's sense of fairness, capability, and common sense. He is isolating no one. Last week, Jerry had a Democrat County Chairman, in barber shop, shake his hand and wish him good luck.