What's changed since then? Eighth District voters say too much.

“The cost of living has gone up, jobs going down, unemployment is going up. I just think we've seen a lot of big changes and not necessarily for the better,” said Shannon Rienbeck of Concord.

It's those changes that could make the difference next Tuesday. Kissell, a Democrat, said he believes they'll propel him into congress.

“The experience that Robin Hayes talks about is the experience of getting us to where we are now,” Kissell said.

Where the Eighth District is now, Kissell said, is in an economic downturn. He pointed to rising unemployment in the last two years.

But Hayes, a Republican, said he believes he's seen changes for the better, citing job creation since 2006.

“As long as one person is without a job that wants one, we're not going to let up on our efforts to bring good jobs to the district,” he said.

Hayes said economic prosperity will come from energy independence. He said that's available right off the coast.

“My opponent refuses to drill. He refuses to support an all-of-the above energy policy. The contrast couldn't be anymore stark,” he said.

At their only debate before the election, it was Kissell highlighting that contrast, calling himself the "mill worker" and Hayes "the mill owner".

“I know what our working people are going through, and I have made the commitment that I will listen to them and that I will go to Washington and be an advocate for them,” Kissell said.

Undecided voter Billy Ray Brown said his vote will go to the candidate who is more action than talk.

“Don’t tell me something and then when you get there, you forget about me. I don’t want that,” Brown said.

With the history of a close election, it's undecided voters who could swing the race from one candidate to another.