North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District has an avatar for a candidate.

She’s carefully avoided adopting an identity, leaving us to wonder who Kathy Manning really is.

There are many unknowns when it comes to Manning, because she “refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests,” according to Vote Smart.

We do know that she wants to “incentivize companies to shift toward more sustainable and cleaner power supplies” — which is a polite way of saying she wants to tax American energy.

We believe she supports similar liberal tax-and-spend policies, opposes gun rights and supports abortion.

But that’s about all we know about Manning.

Will she support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker? Will she vote for impeachment?

We simply don’t know.

Her opponent, though, isn’t at all shy about letting voters know where he stands. Congressman Ted Budd voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which led to higher take-home pay for millions of North Carolinians and new jobs for the 13th District, and has supported President Trump’s agenda over 90 percent of the time.

Better yet, North Carolina’s business climate now ranks third in the nation, the state unemployment rate is dropping to historic lows and North Carolina ranked among the top 20 states for GDP growth from 2017 to 2018.

With so much on the line, we need someone in Washington who’s committed to building on the prosperity that President Trump’s policies have brought to our state.

What little we do know about Kathy Manning puts her squarely in line with liberal Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, but there’s no question that Ted Budd stands with the people, and with President Donald Trump.

— John Byrum

Midway

Editor’s note: Byrum is mayor of Midway.