GREENSBORO

What she says:

* Cut taxes for middle-class families.

* Expand the earned income tax credit and credits for college tuition and day care.

* Explore options such as freezing interest rates or putting a moratorium on foreclosures to improve the housing market.

* Develop alternative energy sources and repeal tax benefits for oil companies.

What she's done:

* Served in the N.C. Senate for five terms.

* Served as co-chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee during her last three terms.

* Supported economic development incentives to create jobs.

DUSKIN C. LASSITER

LEXINGTON

What he says:

* Fix the trade imbalance by renegotiating trade agreements, especially with China.

* End moving of jobs overseas.

* Protect key industries.

* Invest $308 billion over five years to become energy independent using algae.

* Bring back pension plans.

* Strengthen collective bargaining rules.

* Raise the federal minimum wage to at least $12 per hour.

What he's done:

* Worked as a data processor for Lexington State Bank, now called NewBridge Bank, for three and a half years.

* Owns his own trucking company and says he logs almost 70 hours a week at work.

HOWARD STALEY

MONCURE

What he says:

* Does not support interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve; fears they will prompt inflation.

* Is more worried about inflation than the drop in consumer spending.

* Supports the upcoming tax rebates to stimulate the economy.

* Says that government can do little to revive the economy, although it should help those most afflicted. He believes in the free market.

* Says that home prices should decline because they were artificially high.

What he's done:

* Ran a successful podiatrist practice for 26 years and handled his own accounting.

* Studied economics in college.

MARCUS W. WILLIAMS

LUMBERTON

What he says:

*Support worker retraining programs to ensure the best workforce.

* Stimulate creation or expansion of small businesses.

* Create small-business centers at community colleges to provide support.

* Start a federal venture capital fund to make grants and low-interest loans to upstart businesses.

* Use "common sense" discipline in crafting the federal budget.

What he's done:

* Studied economics at UNC-Chapel Hill.

* Balanced budgets for 17 years as leader of legal services programs in Ahoskie, Wilmington and in Pennsylvania.

JIM NEAL

CHAPEL HILL

What he says:

* Reduce taxes for working-class families.

* Increase government focus on alternative energy to create jobs.

* Increase entrepreneurship.

* Reward companies that invest in the U.S. to prevent jobs and tax base from moving overseas.

What he's done:

* Holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

* Worked for investment banks Goldman Sachs, Salomon Bros. and Bear Stearns.

* Served as CEO of RxMarketplace.com, an Internet startup, and led several private companies.

* Founded The Agema Group, a financial advisory firm that is based in Chapel Hill.