State Sen. David Hoyle, once the only Democratic elected official in Gaston County, is stepping down after nine terms, and four Republicans are vying in the primary to win the chance to replace him.

The primary for Senate District 43 includes current state Rep. Wil Neumann and Realtor Kathy Harrington, whose husband Michael served in the state House and was defeated by Hoyle in 2002. Kathy Harrington unsuccessfully challenged Hoyle for the seat in 2008.

Realtor Jim England and businessman Ken Bowen, who married into the family who started Carolina Freight, are also in the race. The winner will face Democrat Annette Carter, the chairwoman of the Gaston County Board of Education.

District 43 covers almost all of Gaston County except for a small sliver of the northeast. Registered Republicans hold a slight edge over Democrats. The county seat, Gastonia, once touted itself as the “combed yarn capital” of the world, but textile jobs have disappeared in Gaston County as they have elsewhere. Unemployment in Gaston County is above 14 percent.

All the Republicans espouse pro-business sentiments similar to those that helped Hoyle, a developer, get re-elected repeatedly.

“We’ve got to bring in more jobs,” said Neumann, a businessman. “That’s the only thing that’s going to get us out of this recession. We’re going to see some real tightening of the belt when the stimulus money goes away.”

Neumann has served two terms in the House, but some of his fellow lawmakers are backing Harrington, including state senators from Mecklenburg and Wake counties. He was ranked the 69th most effective lawmaker in the House for 2009 by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research, moving up sharply from his prior showing of 107th in 2007. Hoyle is ranked the Senate’s third most effective legislator.

Neumann declined to talk about the support that Harrington has garnered from other members of the General Assembly.

“At this point I’m just commenting on the issues,” he said.

Another issue in the campaign is the Garden Parkway, a proposed 22-mile tollway in south Gaston County running from Interstate 485 near the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to I-85 west of Gastonia. The parkway would improve the county’s access to Charlotte and relieve congestion on I-85.

Harrington and England oppose building the tollway.

“The people in the path of this toll road — it seems to me that they have not been dealt with fairly,” Harrington said. “Also, we would have to get ourselves in debt for this road.”

England said about 1 percent of the population would use it.

“This is another funded thing that costs the taxpayers,” England said. “It’s really not going to be that beneficial to anybody.”

Bowen and Neumann said they support the parkway.

“Anyone who has ever sat on Interstate 85 during rush hour knows we need better roads,” Bowen said.

Neumann said building the toll road would help bring jobs to Gaston County.

“I think it would benefit Gaston County,” Neumann said. “I think it will bring transportation jobs back. It will bring industrial jobs back.”

Bowen has borrowed $5,000 from his wife, M’Shel, but hasn’t held any fundraisers so far, according to state campaign filings. Bowen, who came from a family of modest means and put himself through college, said he doesn’t expect any financial help from his wife’s family.

“My wife’s grandfather was a huge advocate for business in the community, and I’d like to carry on that legacy,” Bowen said.

Neumann received more than $28,000 in campaign contributions in the last half of 2009. Harrington received more than $4,700 in contributions. Filings for England didn’t indicate how much cash he had at the end of the year.

“I guess I’m the poorest and most honest candidate that’s run for office since Abraham Lincoln,” England said. “If I had any money, I’d go down to Key West and lay on the beach.”

Sarah Okeson is a contributor to Carolina Journal.