The national group Ad Impact says North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign has no TV commercials booked for the final three weeks of the midterm campaign for the contest to replace outgoing Senator Thom Tillis.
Whatley’s campaign and outside Republican groups this fall spent heavily on ads attacking Democratic candidate Roy Cooper’s record on crime. But polls taken after that ad blitz found Cooper with the same leads as before, often a double-digit advantage.
Ad Impact says Whatley’s campaign itself has no commercials currently booked. Cooper’s campaign has more than $7 million reserved. Outside GOP groups still have nearly $5 million booked for Whatley, while groups supporting Cooper have more than $11 million reserved.
A Whatley spokesperson said the campaign is in a “temporary pause and that it will be back on the air shortly with its closing message.” The campaign said it’s confident it will have the resources to win.
President Trump’s low approval ratings have put more Senate seats in play, in once-safe red states like Kansas and South Carolina.
