No contender has emerged to challenge first-term Rep. Larry Kissell but Republicans say that if they can recruit a a strong candidate, they could retake that seat from the former schoolteacher.

GOP leaders say they’re focused on finding the right candidate to take on Kissell, who unseated five-term Republican Robin Hayes in November.

“Larry Kissell won that seat in an anomaly year,” said Chris McClure, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party. “It was just a tough year in North Carolina.”
CQ Politics rates the race “Leans Democrat.”