Holly Grange has been a pioneer most of her adult life.

The daughter of a high-ranking army officer, she was among the first women to graduate from West Point and become a paratrooper. She married a fellow soldier who was the son of a general and who became a general himself.

Now that she’s running for the Republican nomination for governor, she believes that North Carolina’s rather good economy isn’t as good as it could be.

“I think we can make it better,” said Grange, who represents the 20th district in the North Carolina General Assembly in the Wilmington area. “I think we can continue to reduce taxes. One of the things in our budget this time was to reduce the franchise tax which is devastating to our businesses in North Carolina.”

Grange says a quality education system is key to the state’s economy but that doesn’t always mean you have to spend more money.

“I think you can always spend more money on education, I think the issue is whether money is spent, smartly?” she said. “School choice plays into it as well, parents being able to have options for their children’s education because parents know best how their children learn.”

Grange is both an NRA and concealed carry certified gun instructor and, as you might expect, a strong supporter of the Second Amendment when it comes to trying to solve the issue of gun violence in the state.

“This is a mental health issue more than anything. If someone wants to get a gun to hurt somebody, they’re going to get a gun so limiting law-abiding citizens access to guns is not the answer,” Grange said.

Meet Grange and learn more about where she stands on issues in this Your Local Election Headquarters report.