I received a political mailer yesterday-- i.e. one of those oversized postcards you might typically see during campaign season. It was a hit piece directed at Ted Budd.
The card indicated that it was paid for by the "Carolina Senate Fund" at 228 S. Washington St., Suite 115, Alexandria, VA. A quick google search revealed that this office has been used for Republican political fundraising to support various candidates and causes; and also has been the home of Marco Rubio's Reclaim America PAC that seeks to intervene in various races around the country. Pat Toomey had also had work originating at this address.
The piece took issue with a farm-related business that went bankrupt led by Budd's father, with which Ted Budd had a peripheral level of involvement. The issue is explored further in this story and others that have appeared in the state's print media. The piece also made an issue of the fact that George Soros held some shares in that company as the "largest shareholder" even though it was only 7.6%.
The entire premise behind the ad-- that Budd benefited because farmers were being cheated-- appears to be faulty.
This is a bit reminiscent of what the GOP establishment did to Dr. Greg Brannon seven years ago. They tried to slime him by planting stories in the media and raising questions about business ethics. That is precisely what they are trying to do to Ted Budd.
The big question is who is the intended beneficiary of this effort? Is it Pat McCrory? Mark Walker?
I suspect the GOP establishment is desperate to sink Budd's candidacy since he is a pretty strong conservative and Trump endorsed him. That is likely their primary objective. I am not seeing any evidence that they are similarly trying to sink McCrory or Walker-- at least as of yet.
It would be interesting to see, however, if Thom Tillis had any involvement with this particular effort to undermine Budd's candidacy.
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