Whatley Campaign Pauses TV Ads in North Carolina Senate Race as GOP Groups Shift Money Elsewhere
Republican Michael Whatley's Senate campaign temporarily pulled its television ads in North Carolina on Oct. 7 while rethinking its strategy, as major Republican outside groups redirect spending toward Kansas and Texas and polls show him trailing former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley’s campaign temporarily pulled its television advertising in North Carolina on Wednesday while it rethinks its strategy, according to the Daily Caller, citing The Raleigh News & Observer.
The pause comes as Republican outside groups have cut back spending in the state and redirected money toward other Senate races, according to the report. Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, trailed former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper by nine points in the RealClearPolling average as of Wednesday, the Daily Caller reported.
Outside money moves to Kansas and Texas
The Senate Leadership Fund, the largest Republican Senate super PAC, paused its North Carolina spending after putting more than $30 million into the race, according to the Daily Caller. The group’s Senate campaign arm planned to spend $14 million in Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since the 1930s, and committed more than $100 million in the Texas Senate race through an affiliated group, the report said. Americans for Prosperity Action did not include North Carolina in its $22 million list of future spending in key Republican Senate contests, and the pro-Whatley group Old North Action removed $6.5 million in ad reservations in September, according to the report.
Whatley’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Daily Caller reported. A source told the News & Observer the campaign is confident it has the resources to reach late-breaking supporters and win on Election Day.
An open seat Republicans expected to hold
The race is for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced last year that he would not seek reelection. President Donald Trump endorsed Whatley early in the cycle, the Daily Caller reported. With less than a month until the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the advertising pause is the clearest sign yet that national Republican groups now view North Carolina as an uphill fight and are prioritizing seats they consider more defensible.
Reporting based on coverage by the Daily Caller, citing The Raleigh News & Observer.
