CONCORD, N.C. -- For years, Republican Rep. Robin Hayes has weathered aggressive challenges to his seat -- just two years ago, he beat a Democrat by 329 votes.

He'll face that same challenger, high school civics teacher Larry Kissell, but this time Hayes must also overcome own words.

Hayes has spent the final days of his closely watched re-election campaign backpedaling on comments he made before a rally for party presidential nominee John McCain when he said "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."

Hayes initially denied making the comment, but faced with audio recording of his speech, he acknowledged a mistake.

Trouble is, he can't afford any gaffes in what is expected to be another close race.

Unlike two years ago, Kissell has the full backing of national Democrats eager to expand their majority in the U.S. House. Party leaders are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising to aid the candidate, and he's got some money of his own.

It's a stark difference from a previous campaign that included a meager ad buy, knocking on many doors and a pet goat named for a free-trade deal.

Distracted by his own remarks, Hayes has tried to refocus on his opponent. He's slammed Kissell for paying his campaign workers as consultants instead of employees. Doing so requires workers to pay their own taxes -- income and payroll -- while both employer and worker avoid contributing to unemployment taxes.

And Hayes has criticized Kissell for voicing opposition to an expansion of offshore drilling, saying such exploration is necessary along with investments in alternative energy.

"I hope he has a long and successful career in the classroom." Hayes said, smiling at Kissell as the two debated in front of local press two weeks before the election.

The 8th District race to represent south-central North Carolina is expected to be the most competitive of the three congressional rematches in North Carolina this fall. The other two repeat challengers -- Democrat Craig Weber and Republican Dan Mansell -- were handily defeated by their incumbent opponents two years ago.

Democrat Rep. Bob Etheridge easily beat Mansell with 67 percent of the vote, outspending him by a more than 13-to-1 margin to win his sixth term representing the state's 2nd District, which covers parts of Raleigh and rural areas from Sanford to Smithfield to Clinton.

Etheridge has a moderate record, supporting this year both the financial market bailout package and an energy bill that would have allowed states to permit some offshore drilling. Mansell holds conservative positions on taxation and national defense. An Army veteran, he stresses the need to improve veterans' health care and modernize the system.

As in his earlier bid, Mansell has struggled to draw financial backing. He reported having just $61 in his campaign account at the end of September while Etheridge has $966,000 cash on hand.

In the 3rd District, which covers the northern coast and Jacksonville, Morehead City meteorologist Craig Weber is again trying to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. Walter Jones. The Republican sailed to his seventh term over Weber in 2006, winning with 69 percent of the vote.

Jones has frustrated some voters with his criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq war policy, drawing a strong primary challenge earlier this year. He has called for a timetable for withdrawal and opposed President Bush's troop surge.

Weber, a former Marine, favors a quick end to the war -- which he says has become an occupation -- and has hammered Jones for not doing enough to support the district's military community. He said some of Jones' comments opposing the war amount to compromising the military's mission.

"It was like halfway into a beach invasion you say, 'No. This wasn't such a good idea,"' Weber said.

But like Mansell, Weber has again struggled to attract much-needed campaign money. He reported having about $5,000 in cash at the end of September, while Jones had $278,000.

Outside the rematches, the only challenger -- Democrat Rep. Heath Shuler -- who succeeded in ousting an incumbent two years ago has a comfortable fundraising advantage over his GOP challenger, Asheville city councilman Carl Mumpower.

Shuler ousted established GOP Rep. Charles Taylor in 2006, and he was expected to draw a rigorous challenge from Republicans eager to take back the state's 11th District in North Carolina's western mountains.

But Mumpower has irritated local GOP officials by saying he'd support efforts to impeach President Bush, and has placed the election a second priority to "reforming" his own party, which he claims has strayed from its principles, like small government and low taxes.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Mumpower also refused to run campaign ads -- which he says often try to manipulate voters. Its unlikely Mumpower could have afforded much of a media campaign. At the end of September, he had $2,200 in cash and more than $48,000 in campaign debt. Shuler, meanwhile, reported more than $1 million on hand.

In the neighboring 10th District, Democrats hope political newcomer Daniel Johnson can unseat Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, an outspoken conservative and the youngest member of the House.

Johnson, a Democrat from Hickory, is a former Wake County prosecutor and Navy veteran who lost both his legs while rescuing a shipmate. Like Kissell, Democrats have put him in a special fundraising program designed to steer money to promising candidates.

McHenry has criticized Johnson for not openly talking about social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, which helped him win the seat in 2004. His campaign has attacked Johnson for negotiating pretrial deals with defendants as an assistant district attorney -- even though that's a common practice for prosecutors, who settle most of their cases before they reach trial.

To the north, 5th District challenger Roy Carter is trying to unseat GOP incumbent Virginia Foxx, one of the delegation's most conservative members. She has won by comfortable margins in both of her previous elections.

Foxx said the economy is the most pressing issue Congress needs to address next year, but recently opposed the $700 billion financial market bailout. She said Congress needs to cut spending and programs while authorizing offshore drilling, which she believes will create new jobs and help spark the economy.

Carter, a retired high school teacher and football coach, has focused much of his platform on education initiatives. The Democrat has called for a repeal of No Child Left Behind, which he called the "cruelest thing" to happen to public education during his career, and an expansion of a federal program that helps preschool children from low income families.

But Foxx said Carter's more liberal positions on issues such as taxes will be rejected by voters.

"I don't think that his values mesh with the district very well at all," Foxx said.