Source: Politics<\/p>\n
North Carolina Republicans have a message for Washington: The cavalry needs to come.<\/p>\n
Their Senate nominee<\/a>, former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, is lagging far behind Roy Cooper, the prized Democratic recruit<\/a> and popular former governor, in polls and cash.<\/p>\n Republicans believe Whatley still has time to turn around those steep deficits \u2014 but only if the national GOP opens its deep pockets sooner than later, according to interviews with nearly a dozen North Carolina Republicans and national strategists.<\/p>\n A massive infusion of cash ahead of the typical late summer and early fall spending spree, they say, would combat Whatley\u2019s biggest problem: a lack of name ID.<\/p>\n In a typical midterm year, the state\u2019s Senate race would be a marquee battle. But the Cooper-Whatley matchup has been drowned out by other more high-profile contests in Texas<\/a>, Maine<\/a> and Michigan<\/a>, leaving some in North Carolina anxious for more money and ways to push the national party publicly further into the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has an uphill climb,\u201d said Tuesday Sauer, chair of the Bertie County GOP. \u201cEven though he was the RNC chair, a lot of people who aren’t politically involved really don’t know who Michael Whatley is.\u201d<\/p>\n So far the race has been sleepy, focused on bread-and-butter affordability issues that are defining contests across the country. But the low-key nature of the race is hiding just how critical North Carolina is in November. The state, which President Donald Trump carried three times, is a must-win for Democrats<\/a> frothing at the possibility of flipping the Senate. And in Cooper, Democrats have found a strong candidate to give them a chance at their first Senate win in the state since 2008, thanks to his status as a household name from a political career spanning four decades.<\/p>\n Some Republicans think Whatley, a former state party chair and close Trump ally who is a first-time candidate in his own right, is running a generic campaign that won\u2019t cut it given his blue-chip opponent and the tough national environment.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Whatley has to give them a reason to talk about North Carolina, and so far he hasn’t. That’s the challenge,\u201d said one GOP state official, granted anonymity to speak freely about the race. \u201cThere’s a lot of other races right now that give solid headlines, and right now the headline in North Carolina is: \u2018Republican Party plays possum.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper raised $13.8 million to Whatley\u2019s $5 million in the first quarter<\/a> of the year, and the Democrat entered the second quarter with $18.5 million in cash on hand, while Whatley reported having more than $2.5 million in the bank. Some public polling<\/a> shows Cooper with as much as a 14-point lead over Whatley.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strategy is simple. Remind North Carolinians that Roy Cooper is a pro-crime, pro-tax, career politician whose failed leadership made life less safe and less affordable,\u201d Whatley campaign spokesperson DJ Griffin said in a statement. \u201cThe campaign is humming, our partners are aligned across the board, and every day from now until Election Day is about one thing: sending Roy Cooper into retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans plan to continue hammering Cooper on two major issues: crime and pandemic restrictions. While serving as North Carolina\u2019s top executive during the height of the pandemic, as the virus ripped through prisons, Cooper reached a settlement with civil rights groups to release about 3,500 inmates to reduce overcrowding and health risks. A number of those inmates went on to commit new crimes \u2014 and Republicans blame Cooper for being responsible.<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s team argues that Whatley holds blame<\/a> for pushing for the prisoners to be released during the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatley and his allies have been caught lying time and again, but the truth is Roy Cooper spent his career locking up criminals while Whatley pushed for prisoners to be released during Covid,\u201d said Cooper campaign spokesperson Kate Smart, in a statement.<\/p>\n The race will reveal how fresh those Covid-19 memories are in the minds of voters. Republicans remain angry at Cooper for his pandemic restrictions, like shutting down churches and restricting access to visitors of patients in hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the first chance during Covid, Roy Cooper shut down all the churches, that\u2019s major, while he let the bars remain open,\u201d said state GOP Sen. Steve Jarvis. \u201cIt’s been a while, so I think that’s being missed right now. We need to get that back in the news.\u201d<\/p>\n While antsy for the cash to arrive, many Republicans are optimistic that Whatley\u2019s relationships within the party will come in handy.<\/p>\n The GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund has committed $71 million to the race and so far has reserved more than $36 million in broadcast ads starting in early September, according to tracking service AdImpact. North Carolina, which contains several major media markets, is one of the more expensive states to run ads.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Dems think they have a layup in the only swing state that President Trump is 3-0, they\u2019re out of their minds,\u201d said a national Republican strategist working on the race, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the landscape. <\/p>\n Other PACs, like Old North Action have also reserved a large chunk of ad space this fall. Americans For Prosperity has already doled out more than $8 million this spring, the bulk of which was spent on digital and streaming ads for Whatley. North Carolina Republicans are also optimistic that Whatley will be a major beneficiary of the recent Supreme Court decision<\/a> allowing political parties to freely coordinate with candidates and spend without constraint, given his stint as RNC chair. Republicans have a massive cash edge<\/a> over Democrats: The RNC has more than $125 million in the bank<\/a>, while the DNC has more debt than cash on hand<\/a>, $18.3 million to $14.8 million.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fall of coordinated spending limits means the NRSC can discuss spending decisions directly with our candidates and their campaigns,\u201d said Joanna Rodriguez, communications director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. \u201cThe era of raising the curtain on strategy and press and the Democrats we\u2019re looking to defeat is over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump and Republicans are united behind Michael Whatley, who will be North Carolina’s champion in the US Senate,\u201d said RNC spokesperson Emma Hall, in a statement.<\/p>\n Cooper has his own national money in the pipeline, but so far it doesn\u2019t match the Republican side. WinSenate PAC, affiliated with Schumer-backed Senate Majority PAC, has promised more than $27 million in fall reservations for him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of all of it is that between Republican super PACs and the RNC, they just have way more money,\u201d said Morgan Jackson, a longtime North Carolina Democratic strategist and a Cooper adviser. \u201cThere’s no white horse coming, the way that Republicans are waiting on their savior to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Republicans\u2019 biggest asset \u2014 Trump\u2019s PAC MAGA Inc. \u2014 remains tightlipped about its own plans to distribute its massive $350 million warchest.<\/p>\n \u201cThat money needs to be brought to North Carolina, so the people of North Carolina can be reminded of what a crappy Governor Roy Cooper was,\u201d said GOP state Sen. Amy Galey.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting his name, face recognition in 100 counties is tough, especially in North Carolina, with just plain geographics of going from Manteo to Murphy,\u201d said GOP state Rep. Donnie Loftis, of Whatley. \u201cIt comes down to funding. That money drives your message, and if you don’t have the money, you can’t get your message out there.\u201d<\/p>\n North Carolina Democrats have their own concerns about lagging investments from the national party. Some fear that Cooper\u2019s strong current standing in the race at this juncture will cause party leaders to overlook the state in favor of other shiny objects \u2014 like Texas, where Democrat James Talarico appears competitive with Republican Ken Paxton.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in the Coach K theory,\u201d said Democratic House Minority Leader Robert Rieves, referring to former Duke basketball coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski<\/a>. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how far you are ahead, you keep playing just as hard as you did the first minute.\u201d<\/p>\n Erin Doherty contributed reporting.<\/p>\n