“We obviously need to have a candidate,” Buncombe County Republican chairman Jim Fulton told the Watchdog in a tone meant to convey understatement. Leading the committee is Merry Guy of Hendersonville, former chair of the Henderson County Republican Executive Committee. Woodhouse was even more skeptical, asking rhetorically: “Is there a Republican willing to step into the ring [against Ager] and lose?” With all this creating headwinds, she said the Republican candidate must consider the possibility – even likelihood – that a loss to Ager would end an otherwise promising political career. Grayson Barnette, the Ager campaign manager, told the Watchdog that Edwards’s resignation won’t affect the campaign’s direction.