ICYMI: New NC-SEN Poll; “Budd Has Leaped Forward With The $10 Million Backing Of Club For Growth Action”

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Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, another poll shows Ted Budd with a commanding lead in the North Carolina Senate Republican primary. The Civitas Poll shows Budd has an 11 point lead over failed RINO Pat McCrory.

Earlier this week, Club for Growth PAC released a poll showing Budd has a 13 point lead over McCrory.  Emerson College Polling released another poll this week showing Budd has a 16 point lead over McCrory.

In the Carolina Journal story on the new Civitas poll, John Locke Foundation President Donald Bryson said, “It’s clear that Budd has leaped forward with the $10 million backing of Club for Growth Action in the past few weeks.”

Also note the new School Freedom Fund ad, “Textbook,” that started this week highlighting Pat McCrory’s liberal appointments to the state textbook commission.

Select coverage and commentary from the past week follows.

Budd pulls ahead in new U.S. Senate GOP primary poll — David N Bass, Carolina Journal

“Budd’s nearly 13-point surge since the last time we polled this race, in January, leaps off the topline results. It’s clear that Budd has leaped forward with the $10 million backing of Club for Growth Action in the past few weeks,” said John Locke Foundation President Donald Bryson. Locke oversees the Civitas Poll. “What might be the most remarkable is that we are 40 days out from this election, and nearly 40% of likely primary voters are still undecided.”

Poll: Rep. Ted Budd Leads ‘Anti-Trump RINO’ Pat McCrory in North Carolina U.S. Senate Primary — Katherine Hamilton,Breitbart

Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is leading former Gov. Pat McCrory by 13 points in the North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary race, according to new internal polling. Club for Growth PAC released the poll on Wednesday, just a day after an Emerson College/The Hill poll showed Budd 16 points ahead of McCrory, 38 percent to 22 percent. Walker came in third at 9 percent. “It’s clear that Ted Budd has taken the lead, and that voters recognize Pat McCrory is an anti-Trump RINO. President Trump’s rally this weekend will boost Budd’s momentum and remind voters that Budd is a principled and proven conservative endorsed by Club for Growth PAC and President Trump, while Pat McCrory has spent his entire career siding with liberals” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said of the poll results. The top outside conservative group has used its influence to boost Budd’s campaign, spending millions on television and digital ads in the final months of the race—”literally salting the earth in the Tar Heel State in the home stretch to seal the deal for Budd,” Breitbart News previously reported. Club for Growth Action says it has spent at least $14 million on the primary. 

Lauren Camera of US News & World Report Tweeted:

Whew. Blistering attack ad from the School Freedom Fund targeting former GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, who is running for U.S. Senate, over his appointment of Dems to the state textbook commission.

The latest evidence that the Republican playbook for midterms will continue harping on CRT. $1.25 million for the ads to run on Fox News and satellite channels.

Trump’s North Carolina Senate Candidate Is Surging Into the Lead — Ed KilgoreNew York Magazine

In the new, non-candidate-sponsored Emerson poll, however, Budd is at 38 percent, McCrory at 22 percent, and Walker is far back at 9 percent. The poll showed that “59 percent of Republican primary voters say Trump’s endorsement makes them more likely to vote for a candidate.” But Budd’s most important backer may be the Club for Growth [Action], which has pledged to spend up to $14 million on ads praising their candidate, and more importantly, bashing McCrory as a liberal, a loser, and a traitor to the Boss 

Trump-endorsed Budd leads McCrory by double digits in NC GOP Senate race, poll says — Avi Bajpai, Raleigh News and Observer

U.S. Rep. Ted Budd has a double-digit lead in the Republican primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a poll released Tuesday shows. Budd, a three-term congressman representing North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, leads former Gov. Pat McCrory by 16 percentage points among likely voters, according to the poll, which was conducted by Emerson College and the news outlet The Hill. Budd was endorsed by Trump last year, at the NCGOP convention in Greenville, and the conservative Club for Growth [Action] has spent millions of dollars in TV ads informing Republicans of the endorsement. Trump will hold a rally Saturday in Johnston County.

Budd leads GOP rivals in NC Senate primary: poll — Tal Axelrod, The Hill

Rep. Ted Budd holds a double-digit lead in North Carolina’s GOP Senate primary, according to a new poll from The Hill and Emerson College, a reversal from previous polls showing him trailing former Gov. Pat McCrory. The survey shows Budd with 38 percent support among likely GOP primary voters, compared with 22 percent for McCrory. Former Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) comes in a distant third with 9 percent, though 23 percent of likely primary voters remain undecided.

1st NC Senate poll: Trump-endorsed Budd holds double-digital lead — Steve Doyle, CBS 17 Raleigh

With exactly six weeks left before Primary Election day in North Carolina, Rep. Ted Budd has seized firm control in the race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. A CBS 17/The Hill/Emerson College poll, the first non-partisan poll conducted in this race, found that Budd, a resident of Advance who represents the current 13th Congressional District, has the support of 38 percent of likely voters on May 17 and would be favored in a head-to-head election against likely Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley in November.

Scott Jennings of CNN Tweeted:

What’s amazing about this NC senate poll is that it destroys McCrory’s main argument – that he’s the only one who can win in fall. He’s down to Beasley while Budd and Walker win in a walk. This poll was a huge disaster for McCrory all the way around. Yikes.

Lucille Sherman of Axios Tweeted:

“NEW: Club for Growth [PAC], which is backing NC U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd, is releasing a poll today showing a month+ ahead of the primary, Budd has a 13-pt lead in the #ncsen race #ncpol #ncgop @cfgAction

Budd  – 44%

McCrory – 31%

Walker – 11%

Eastman – 3%

Undecided – 11%”

Bryan Anderson of NBC 5 WRAL Tweeted: 

“Alas, we have our first credible poll of the #ncsen GOP primary from an apolitical entity.

Ted Budd: 38%

Pat McCrory: 22%

Mark Walker: 9%

Undecided: 23%

MOE: +/- 4.3% among 508 GOP primary voters surveyed.

Poll conducted by @EmersonPolling and @NXSTMediaGroup. #ncpol”

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH ACTION AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. (202) 955-5500