North Carolina Senate

So, um, so it is an open seat, and Republicans are pulling money out of that race, just as he said.

They're also pulling money out of places like the North Carolina Senate race, uh, where Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican Party, is running way behind Roy Co- Cooper, Democratic governor, so- former Democratic governor.

So we're seeing, even though Republicans have a massive money advantage in this race, they're reprioritizing where funds are going.

Um, there's a race outside of, um, outside of Philadelphia in Bucks County.

...

Ray Martin, uh, you, we appreciate everything you're doing in North Carolina politics, your work over at The Differentiators, your work in the North Carolina Senate, your work running the Senate caucus.

You certainly know how to do politics better.

Thank you for being on the podcast today.

That iconic picture of Obama's staff just sitting there with that dead-eye look, mad.

And then we get this story, there's a super PAC that's pulled its advertising, and we're supposed to interpret this as overwhelming confidence in the, the, uh, North Carolina Senate race.

Apparently, when Democrats stop spending, it's strategic genius.

But when Republicans stop spending, somebody calls a priest.

Right.

And, uh, and whenever I think about, like, uh, the, these industries really all run together when you're talking about entertainment and wrestling, and even, I, I mean, I ran for North Carolina Senate, uh-

Mm-hmm

... and, and if you think about it-

...

I, I used it as an opportunity to, like, evangelize.

And I, I found it fun that at the polling locations, I would put my, uh, I would put my Barber, there it is, Barber- North Carolina Senate, uh, [laughs] sign-

[laughs] Oh, right

You know, we saw with Gregory Bovino coming into Charlotte that had Charlotte's Web, that it was organizations like Siembra NC, El Pueblo North Carolina, and Carolina Migrant Network who are the three organizations on the ground really engaging in our Hispanic community, and also looking at, uh, both of our South Asian community populations in Cary and in Morrisville particularly, and Wake County that were also heavily targeted.

And so also looking at people like Senator Hassie Fatme this year, who we're trying to make sure that we reelect in the North Carolina State Senate in a very competitive State Senate seat, because also representation and making sure that communities have that in our legislature right now and also in their community, uh, both at the city council level and the county commission level to me is extremely important because you're gonna have and you're gonna wanna see trusted messengers right now who are telling you it's okay to still come out and vote, because if you don't have that and you don't see that in this party, uh, you're not gonna be able, I think, to trust somebody who may look like me in that sense too.

And I think that there's an opportunity that we've got to make sure that we're uplifting the right voices on the ground this year to be able to be those messengers in their own communities.

And so a very big thank you, though, to the organizations on the ground across North Carolina who are doing that hard work right now and across this country who have made sure that we've got activists and, and organizations that are prepped with it.

You wanna start with a m- the midterms update? Let's do it.

[thunder crashes] GOP group ditches North Carolina Senate race a month early.

That's not a good sign, is it? Is that a good sign when they decide not to spend money on a, on a race a month early? With one month until election day, some big GOP spenders are giving up on North Carolina and prioritizing other states.

It's a sign that Republicans believe Michael Whatley can't win, and the seat will flip to Democrats, who need four pickups to regain control of the Senate.

Several key Republican super PACs have canceled October ad campaigns in North Carolina as polls show Whatley several points behind former Democratic governor Roy Cooper.

Last month, Republicans spent $53 million on North Carolina Senate race, while Democrats spent 44 million, according to the firm Ad Impact tracked.

PACs backing the candidates have reserved ads totaling over thr- $33 million for each candidate in October.

Um, but that calculation was made on Thursday.