The personal side of NC’s three Senate candidates | News & Observer

This year’s U.S. Senate race has brought millions of dollars in spending and a barrage of attack ads, often painting not-so-nice images of the contenders in 30-second blasts.

To get beyond the caricatures and talking points, we asked the three candidates – Republican Sen. Richard Burr, Democrat Deborah Ross and Libertarian Sean Haugh – a series of 20 personal questions.

Here’s what they had to say:

1. My favorite (movie, TV show or book) about politics is:

Burr: “I don’t have any favorites. Politics isn’t fun. (Pause) What’s the one on Netflix that I watch? ‘House of Cards’? That’d probably be it.”

Haugh: “The Candidate” with Robert Redford

Ross: “The American President.”

2. My biggest pet peeve is:

Burr: “(When) people criticize me about not wearing socks. (Plus), I hate to be tardy.”

Haugh: “See, post-heart attack, I’ve been trying to let go of all that stuff. But – people who drive 15 miles under the speed limit.”

Ross: “Liars.”

3. On my first date with my spouse, we:

Burr: “Went to the beach.” (It was 40 years ago – he was 21.)

Haugh: “I met her in a Libertarian meeting.”

Ross: “We went to Margaux’s” (a North Raleigh restaurant that’s still in business today)

4. My favorite U.S. Supreme Court justice is:

Burr: “(The late Antonin) Scalia.”

Haugh: “Justice (Stephen) Breyer”

Ross: “Sandra Day O’Connor”

5. My career goal at age 11 was:

Burr: “Professional athlete.”

Haugh: “To be president – I got smarter.”

Ross: “To be a doctor.”

6. The last book I read was:

Burr: “Lone Survivor,” by Marcus Luttrell. (The full title is “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.”)

Haugh: “‘A Distant Mirror’ by Barbara Tuchman” (The full title is “A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century” – it’s a history of medieval Europe)

Ross: “‘Bookends’ by Patricia Ferguson, a former county commissioner in Bertie County, about poverty.”

7. The public event or person who has shaped my political philosophy the most was:

Burr: “(Ronald) Reagan.”

Haugh: “Barry Goldwater.”

Ross: “Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.”

8. My proudest accomplishment as a public official has been:

Burr: “Probably the passing of the ABLE Act. ... I think that’s what (government) is for.” (The ABLE Act, passed in 2014, amends the tax code to allow for tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities.)

Haugh: “Helping my party grow. It’s really the most gratifying thing to me ... helping us get bigger vote totals than we’ve received before.”

Ross: “I have a lot of proud accomplishments as a public official. One of them was the comprehensive ethics reform that we did in the wake of Jim Black (the House speaker convicted of corruption). That’s was a pretty big deal. Also comprehensive domestic violence reform and the Museum of Natural Sciences (expansion).”

9. A vote I wish I could take back is:

Burr: “I’m not sure there’s one I’d take back.”

Haugh: “I don’t know that I have one, to be perfectly honest. I spent two weeks when I was in college volunteering for the first George Bush presidential campaign in 1980. It set me straight.”

Ross: “Well, I’m going to stand on my record.”

10. A foreign leader I really admire is:

Burr: “The King of Jordan. King Abdullah. He’s been thrown everything. He manages to hang on.”

Haugh: “The Dalai Lama. I really admire him for being spokesperson for peace and unity as well as justice for his own people. I also admire Pope Francis a lot for similar reasons.”

Ross: “There are a lot – Aung San Suu Kyi (of Myanmar) and (German chancellor) Angela Merkel.”

11. If I could travel across the country with any person in history, it would be:

Burr: “Teddy Roosevelt. Because he had a love of the land. And that’s what most Americans don’t realize about this country – the geographical diversity. You can go someplace in the United States and see (among) the most beautiful places ... in the world.”

Haugh: “Mark Twain – I know that’s probably a hackneyed one, but he and I would do a lot of the same things.”

Ross: “Abraham Lincoln.”

12. My nickname is/was:

Burr: “Burrhead” (back when he was young and his hair was long).

Haugh: “I don’t have one. People called me names, but I never had a nickname. My name is hard to spell – I realize that I have a lot emotionally invested in my name. I’ve always been very attached to my name.”

Ross: “My nickname is Deb for people who really know me. But the only real nickname I’ve ever had was my dad used to call me Ace.”

13. Multiple choice: The mountains or the beach?

Burr: “The beach because of my wife.”

Haugh: “The mountains.”

Ross: “I like the beach better.”

14. My favorite song is:

Burr: “I’m an odd one. I listen to anything country and anything classical. Two great extremes. When I’m really in the car, I’ll cut on Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons.’ That’s probably the thing that’s soothing to me the most.”

Haugh: “’I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun” by Rotary Connection. They were a psychedelic band from the ‘60s.”

Ross: “I have a lot of favorite songs. One of them is Lyle Lovett’s version of ‘If I Needed You.’”

15. On an ideal Saturday, I would:

Burr: “Work around the house.”

Haugh: “I would watch my Oklahoma Sooners win a football game.”

Ross: “Take a long walk, go to the farmers’ market, have lunch with friends, go to the movies with my husband.”

16. If I could watch only one hour of TV every week, it would be:

Burr: “Bret Baier’s show on Fox (News).”

Haugh: “Football.”

Ross: “I’m kind of boring – I like to watch the Newshour on Friday nights.”

17. My spouse and children think I’m too:

Burr: “I’d say thrifty.”

Haugh: “Liberal.”

Ross: “Too much of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to him leaving things strewn around the house. He’s messy and I’m neat.”

18. My least favorite thing about holding public office is:

Burr: “That my job is in Washington.”

Haugh: “Having to spend so much time in Washington, D.C.”

Ross: “You don’t have control over your schedule.”

19. The one thing that helps me get through long campaign days is:

Burr: “What keeps me going is the interaction with the people I’m going to see at the next stop.”

Haugh: “I’m always having fun with it. This is another question where I don’t fit in. I don’t really have long campaign days. Post-heart attack, I’m still recovering. Part of my doctor’s instructions is when I feel like I’m pushing myself too hard, don’t push through it, just stop.”

Ross: “People – I always have energy for people. So if it’s an event that involves interacting with people, I’m always going to find it.”

20. The one thing my opponent has said about me that has really bothered me is:

Burr: “The fact that she has insinuated that I’ve gone to Washington and only looked after myself. For anybody who knows me, they know that is 100 percent crap.”

Haugh: “What bothers me is they don’t talk about me. They’re both trying to ignore the fact that I exist. I found out that it was both of them that insisted I not be in the debate.”

Ross: “That the people of North Carolina don’t value the Constitution.”