RALEIGH: The Daily Beast took a look at the state of the “highly competitive” North Carolina Senate race, noting this race is among the “Senate pickup opportunities” this election cycle. The reporting highlighted that North Carolinians know they have a “winning candidate in Cheri Beasley” whose exciting and “historic” candidacy can cause voters to “turn up in higher levels.” 

The Daily Beast noted that Beasley held a “dominating lead in the primary,” and began “statewide television and digital advertising in April” to communicate with general election voters. Meanwhile, Congressman Ted Budd is a “weak candidate” far outside the mainstream with his vote against certifying the 2020 election and the backing of “ultra-conservative PAC Club for Growth.” With Beasley’s “strong” candidacy and Budd’s deeply-flawed record, The Daily Beast noted that “Republicans have already begun investing heavily in the state” to prop up Budd. 

The Daily Beast also reported that Democrats have invested in North Carolina already, with “Senate Majority PAC issu[ing] a seven-figure ad buy.” The reporting also noted the NRNSC’ false attacks against Beasley even led to “North Carolina TV stations… pull[ing] a series of attack ads.” 

Read the highlights below:

Daily Beast: Dems Always Swear They Can Win in NC. This Time They Mean It
By Ursula Perano
July 3, 2022

[…]

Party leaders and strategists say they’ve got a winning candidate in Cheri Beasley, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court. She won 81 percent of the vote in the state primary, and, if elected, she would be only the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.

“When you have historic candidacies, you end up in a place where voters turn up in higher levels than they traditionally do,” said Morgan Jackson, a North Carolina Democratic strategist.

Where Democratic strategists feel they have a strong candidate in Beasley, they also believe they have a weak candidate in the Republican nominee: Rep. Ted Budd, a third-term congressman who cruised to victory in the primary after winning former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Budd was one of the 147 members to vote against certifying the 2020 election results and, on top of being a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, he’s backed by the ultra-conservative PAC Club for Growth.

North Carolina is one of the few Senate pickup opportunities for Democrats this cycle. And early polling shows the race between Beasley and Budd as highly competitive.

“Cheri made this race competitive and can win, which is why polls show this race is tied and Washington Republicans are spending millions of dollars on false attacks and to prop up out-for-himself Congressman Ted Budd,” Beasley spokesperson Dory MacMillan said in a statement.

[…]

Yet Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), DSCC chair, told The Daily Beast that North Carolina is certainly a priority for the committee. “I’m getting a lot of excitement on the campaign trail, it’s a clear contrast between her and her opponent who is an extreme candidate. He’s out of touch with the majority of North Carolina voters… she’s gonna do extremely well,” Peters said. “She’s gonna build a lot of excitement on the journey.”

[…]

[W]ith Beasley’s dominating lead in the primary, she started statewide television and digital advertising in April. Senate Majority PAC, an outside group aligned with Democrats, has issued a seven-figure ad buy countering attacks against Beasley, and North Carolina TV stations have also pulled a series of attack ads on Beasley, which allegedly distorted her judicial record, per Charlotte’s NPR station.

Republicans have begun investing heavily in the state. The GOP-backed Senate leadership fund has already earmarked $27 million for ad buys in the state this fall, a number second only to their planned investment for a Senate race in Georgia.

[…]
 

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