Democrats are ramping up efforts to boost former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in her race against conservative Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) for North Carolina’s open Senate seat.
`
With recent polls showing the candidates in a neck-and-neck race, Senate Majority PAC — a super PAC with close ties to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — dedicated an additional $4 million to be used for television ads in the state, spending a total of $10.5 million this cycle in an effort to pick up the seat. The increase in ads is expected to kick off next week, according to NBC News.
DEMOCRATS SKITTISH ABOUT THROWING BIG MONEY AT NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE
Recent polls have shown a close race. A SurveyUSA-WRAL poll showed 43% of respondents indicating they planned to support Budd and 42% stating they planned to back Beasley with 13% undecided.
Beasley has looked to tout bipartisanship with Democrat looking to paint Budd as an extremist and link him to former President Donald Trump while Budd has attacked her for being soft on crime.
The uptick in spending comes as Republicans have heavily spent in the state, with Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee having spend roughly $26.38 million to back Budd. The Republican is a Trump ally and former gun store owner who was first elected in 2016. The GOP is fighting to flip the majority in the upper chamber.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The battleground state is expected to play a key role in which party holds the majority next year, with Trump having won the state by 1 point in 2020.
During the previous cycle, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) narrowly edged out Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham by 2 percentage points after Cunningham endured a sex scandal in the final stretch of the campaign.
