ICYMI: New NC-SEN Ad and Polling

In case you missed it, McClatchy’s Brian Murphy published an exclusive report on the new Club for Growth Action North Carolina Senate television advertisement and a new Club for Growth PAC poll on the race.

The ad, titled “Endorsement,” highlights President Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd, and the $3 million buy begins on September 7th and runs through November 1st. The ad will run on broadcast in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro DMAs, and statewide on Fox News, addressable satellite, and digital outlets.

The new Club for Growth PAC poll shows that once Republican primary voters become aware of Trump’s endorsement of Budd, he holds a 24-point lead and a majority of the primary vote.

Click here to read the story.

Click here to watch the new TV ad, “Endorsement.”

Click here to read the polling memo.

Story Excerpts:

President Donald Trump endorsed Ted Budd three months ago in North Carolina’s 2022 U.S. Senate race.

Now one of Budd’s biggest political backers is spending $3 million to make sure Republicans in the state are aware of Trump’s endorsement.

Club For Growth Action, which backed Budd in his first congressional bid in 2016 and has lined up behind his Senate campaign, will run a television ad promoting Trump’s endorsement for the next eight weeks in the Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro markets and statewide on Fox News.

The spot will start Tuesday and end Nov. 1.

The 30-second ad uses audio from Trump’s surprise endorsement at the Republican state convention in June, where the former president announced his choice at the top of his speech and made veiled, disparaging remarks about former Gov. Pat McCrory, another top candidate in the race. Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, another Republican running for Senate, was also in the audience.

…

But Budd does have two powerful allies in his Senate bid: Trump and the Club For Growth.

In June, Club for Growth Action President David McIntosh announced his group had raised more than $5 million — and planned to raise more — to support Budd’s Senate run. Club For Growth [Action] put $500,000 into Budd’s 2016 U.S. House race, helping elevate the gun store owner in a crowded 17-candidate field.

Club For Growth is a conservative [membership organization]. Club For Growth Action is its election spending arm, which pays for advertisements and direct mail campaigns. Club For Growth Action spent more than $65 million in the 2020 election cycle, all of it to help elect Republicans.

The ad hits the same theme as a Budd campaign radio ad earlier this summer. Both Budd and the Club for Growth are betting that Trump’s support will elevate him over the better-known McCrory in a Republican primary in a state Trump twice carried in his presidential runs.

A June poll, commissioned by Club For Growth [PAC], points to the potential impact. The poll of 509 likely Republican primary voters showed McCrory with a big ballot edge, but pollsters said after voters “become fully aware of Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Budd grabbed a majority of the vote.