Eric Cables bid to become North Carolinas first Libertarian legislator pits him against Republican Dan Bishop in a GOP-dominated district.

One will succeed Rep. Ruth Samuelson, who opted not to run for a fifth term representing House District 104 in south Charlotte. Democrats didnt run a challenger.

Bishop, a lawyer specializing in business litigation, served as a Mecklenburg County commissioner from 2004 to 2008. He says those experiences, and a lifetime in Charlotte, give him a deep understanding of local issues that utopian politics cant match.

Im conservative, but I believe you have to temper ideology with practical experience, he said.

His Libertarian opponent, who lost a run for Charlotte City Council last year, says voters are eager for a new political approach.

People are pulling away from both sides, but more from the Republicans, Cable said. There are people who are getting fed up with extremism from both sides.

The districts profile suggests a steep uphill battle for Cable, whos counting on Democrats and independent voters to turn out. Nearly 40 percent Republican, the district has only 235 registered Libertarians.

Bishop, 50, says Republicans in charge of North Carolinas legislature since 2011 have rightly started rebuilding the states economy with limited government, lower tax rates and fewer regulations.

The big challenge over the coming years will be that the changes that have been made need to be able to play out, he said. You have to let that have the effect of drawing businesses in to the state and incentivizing businesses to grow.

He supports the teacher pay raises legislators granted this year but says the teacher career ladder needs reform. He says legislators were right not to expand Medicaid amid the Obamacare disaster and prescribes market competition to improve health care and lower costs.

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Former commissioner, Libertarian battle for south Charlotte seat