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The conservative group Americans for Prosperity Action has launched a $5.6 million ad campaign targeting swing voters and pockets of the Republican base deemed critical to holding the party’s majority in the U.S. Senate.
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Some of those voters are in North Carolina, where they will soon see digital and streaming ads from the political advocacy group telling them to vote for Michael Whatley.
The ads here are part of a campaign in seven battleground states, which also include Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Montana and Michigan.
Political analysts say they believe Democrats have the strongest chance of flipping North Carolina.
The U.S. Senate is made up of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who typically work with their Democratic colleagues.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, currently holds one of North Carolina’s two Senate seats but chose not to seek reelection.
That left Whatley, a Republican from Gastonia, running against former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat from Raleigh, who has held an elected position since 1987.
Cooper has raised around $34 million, while Whatley has brought in around $11 million, according to OpenSecrets. The margin between their spending on the race is closer, with Cooper’s campaign spending around $12.9 million and Whatley $7.7 million.
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Cooper maintains $20.7 million in cash, while Whatley has $3.5 million.
Polling consistently shows that Whatley trails Cooper in name recognition and support.
Whatley, a former leader of the state and national GOP, won the primary election with the help of an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who won all three presidential elections in the state.
Since December, AFP Action has invested $5.3 million in North Carolina alone. The group began regularly campaigining door to door for Whatley in February.
“This election comes down to two paths,” said Nathan Nascimento, executive director of AFP Action. “One leads to higher taxes, more government, and less freedom. The other leads to more choices, more opportunity, and more freedom”
He added in a news release: “Our candidates are the ones leading on that second path — and we know it’s working, because we’re moving voters toward them every day at the doors. Given the choice between more government and more freedom, voters are choosing freedom.”
AFP Action stated in a news release that its volunteers have knocked on nearly 2 million doors across the seven states and have found the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds is cost-of-living.
“When a candidate shows up with a credible plan and a sharp contrast to the alternative, voters move,” the news release said. “That is the model this campaign is built to scale.”
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