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| Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Hagan runs anti-Obamacare attack ads against GOP contender | Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Hagan runs anti-Obamacare attack ads against GOP contender |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| CONOVER, N.C. — The fliers landed in the mailboxes of Republican voters here last week with a warning likely to unnerve many conservatives. | CONOVER, N.C. — The fliers landed in the mailboxes of Republican voters here last week with a warning likely to unnerve many conservatives. |
| Republican U.S. Senate front-runner Thom Tillis, the mailer declared, once called President Obama’s health-care law “a great idea.” The assertion echoed recent radio ads that also seem to question Tillis’s adherence to the orthodoxy of a party that has made its opposition to the health-care law a centerpiece of its midterm election strategy. | |
| But the warnings didn’t come from any of the seven opponents Tillis is facing in Tuesday’s Republican primary, where he has been regularly attacked as not suitably conservative. Instead, they were paid for by the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Kay Hagan, who will face the eventual GOP nominee in November. | But the warnings didn’t come from any of the seven opponents Tillis is facing in Tuesday’s Republican primary, where he has been regularly attacked as not suitably conservative. Instead, they were paid for by the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Kay Hagan, who will face the eventual GOP nominee in November. |
| Hagan herself is a supporter of the health-care law, but she is taking the unusual step of spending money on advertisements designed to appeal to Republican voters skeptical of the measure. The maneuver is apparently intended to undermine enthusiasm in the GOP base for the Republican who is seen as her strongest potential challenger in November. | Hagan herself is a supporter of the health-care law, but she is taking the unusual step of spending money on advertisements designed to appeal to Republican voters skeptical of the measure. The maneuver is apparently intended to undermine enthusiasm in the GOP base for the Republican who is seen as her strongest potential challenger in November. |
| In attacking a potential rival still embroiled in a primary contest, Hagan is embracing at least a variation of a tactic used successfully by other vulnerable Democratic senators in recent elections. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), who initially faced difficult reelection odds in 2010 and 2012, respectively, found ways to reach into GOP primaries and help weaker candidates emerge as their ultimate challengers. | In attacking a potential rival still embroiled in a primary contest, Hagan is embracing at least a variation of a tactic used successfully by other vulnerable Democratic senators in recent elections. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), who initially faced difficult reelection odds in 2010 and 2012, respectively, found ways to reach into GOP primaries and help weaker candidates emerge as their ultimate challengers. |
| If Tillis, 53, does not exceed 40 percent of the vote in North Carolina’s Republican primary Tuesday, he faces a potentially costly and divisive runoff in July. Polls and interviews with strategists on both sides of the aisle suggest Tillis is leading but could be on the bubble of hitting the 40-percent threshold. His rivals include a Baptist minister with support from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and a tea party favorite who is scheduled to appear Monday with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). | If Tillis, 53, does not exceed 40 percent of the vote in North Carolina’s Republican primary Tuesday, he faces a potentially costly and divisive runoff in July. Polls and interviews with strategists on both sides of the aisle suggest Tillis is leading but could be on the bubble of hitting the 40-percent threshold. His rivals include a Baptist minister with support from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and a tea party favorite who is scheduled to appear Monday with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). |
| Tillis, speaker of North Carolina’s GOP-led House, is popular among some conservatives for helping to guide a dramatic shift to the right in Raleigh over the past four years that has spawned mass demonstrations on the left. | Tillis, speaker of North Carolina’s GOP-led House, is popular among some conservatives for helping to guide a dramatic shift to the right in Raleigh over the past four years that has spawned mass demonstrations on the left. |
| A vocal critic of the health-care law, Tillis said Hagan is seeking to have an impact on Tuesday’s primary outcome. During the February radio interview that has become the basis for Hagan’s attack ads, Tillis was highly critical of the measure before concluding that it is a “great idea that can’t be paid for” — a quote he says was sarcasm that Hagan has now taken out of context. | A vocal critic of the health-care law, Tillis said Hagan is seeking to have an impact on Tuesday’s primary outcome. During the February radio interview that has become the basis for Hagan’s attack ads, Tillis was highly critical of the measure before concluding that it is a “great idea that can’t be paid for” — a quote he says was sarcasm that Hagan has now taken out of context. |
| “They’ve meddled in the campaign. . . . They’ll be meddling in the campaign all the way to Tuesday. And if we have a runoff, they’ll be meddling again,” Tillis said as he greeted Republicans arriving to vote early at a library in Charlotte on Saturday. “They do not want to see me face off against Kay Hagan in November.” | |
| Democratic efforts to intervene in this year’s North Carolina GOP primary may be more difficult than the Reid and McCaskill races. GOP allies have flooded the airwaves in North Carolina and other competitive states this year, determined to avoid the kinds of low-caliber general-election candidates blamed for denying the party a Senate majority in 2012. | Democratic efforts to intervene in this year’s North Carolina GOP primary may be more difficult than the Reid and McCaskill races. GOP allies have flooded the airwaves in North Carolina and other competitive states this year, determined to avoid the kinds of low-caliber general-election candidates blamed for denying the party a Senate majority in 2012. |
| Republicans need to pick up six seats to win control of the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a 55-to-45 advantage and Vice President Biden has the constitutional authority to cast tie-breaking votes. | Republicans need to pick up six seats to win control of the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a 55-to-45 advantage and Vice President Biden has the constitutional authority to cast tie-breaking votes. |
| Polls suggest Hagan is one of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, and any path to a GOP majority in the Senate likely goes through North Carolina. | Polls suggest Hagan is one of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, and any path to a GOP majority in the Senate likely goes through North Carolina. |
| Groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads have already spent millions backing Tillis, who was elected speaker of the state House after Republicans won the chamber in 2010. The National Rifle Association is backing Tillis, as are former Florida governor Jeb Bush and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. The party’s 2012 presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, endorsed Tillis on Monday. | |
| Hagan, in an interview, brushed off the suggestion that she is trying to interfere with the Republican race. She said she is fighting back against $12 million that has already been spent against her by outside groups in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most expensive Senate races. | Hagan, in an interview, brushed off the suggestion that she is trying to interfere with the Republican race. She said she is fighting back against $12 million that has already been spent against her by outside groups in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most expensive Senate races. |
| “Every [Republican] candidate has a fringe agenda — I’ll let the primary voters Tuesday decide who my actual opponent will be,” she said. | “Every [Republican] candidate has a fringe agenda — I’ll let the primary voters Tuesday decide who my actual opponent will be,” she said. |
| Hagan added that her goal is to “set the record straight, after Tillis is trying to have it both ways,” running on his support for repealing the health-care law while also saying he would find a way to preserve provisions of the law that have proven popular. | Hagan added that her goal is to “set the record straight, after Tillis is trying to have it both ways,” running on his support for repealing the health-care law while also saying he would find a way to preserve provisions of the law that have proven popular. |
| Hagan’s campaign declined to say whether the mailers specifically targeted Republican households. Hagan spokeswoman Sadie Weiner would say only that the effort was “statewide.” | Hagan’s campaign declined to say whether the mailers specifically targeted Republican households. Hagan spokeswoman Sadie Weiner would say only that the effort was “statewide.” |
| Several GOP strategists reported receiving the flier delivered to their homes in recent days, suggesting that the ad was directed at Republicans. | Several GOP strategists reported receiving the flier delivered to their homes in recent days, suggesting that the ad was directed at Republicans. |
| If forced into a runoff with either of his two top opponents, the Rev. Mark Harris or physician Greg Brannon, Tillis would spend the next two months in an expensive battle to win conservative voters. That would leave Hagan time to define herself with independent and centrist voters likely to decide the November election in a dynamic and growing state. | If forced into a runoff with either of his two top opponents, the Rev. Mark Harris or physician Greg Brannon, Tillis would spend the next two months in an expensive battle to win conservative voters. That would leave Hagan time to define herself with independent and centrist voters likely to decide the November election in a dynamic and growing state. |
| Potentially more worrisome for Tillis’s supporters, he would need to contend with a runoff campaign just as the North Carolina legislature returns to session later this month. | Potentially more worrisome for Tillis’s supporters, he would need to contend with a runoff campaign just as the North Carolina legislature returns to session later this month. |
| That is likely to prompt a new round of protests that could help Hagan organize and excite a Democratic base that might otherwise sit out the non-presidential-election year. | That is likely to prompt a new round of protests that could help Hagan organize and excite a Democratic base that might otherwise sit out the non-presidential-election year. |
| Since Republicans took control of both chambers of the legislature in 2010 for the first time in more than 100 years, they have passed new voter identification laws and restrictions on abortion clinics. They have cut taxes as well as education spending. Polls show the legislature’s approval ratings are dim, and Democrats believe Hagan and others in the party could benefit from a renewed focus on Raleigh. | Since Republicans took control of both chambers of the legislature in 2010 for the first time in more than 100 years, they have passed new voter identification laws and restrictions on abortion clinics. They have cut taxes as well as education spending. Polls show the legislature’s approval ratings are dim, and Democrats believe Hagan and others in the party could benefit from a renewed focus on Raleigh. |
| Hagan said that Democratic voters, upset over the policy changes enacted in Raleigh, are “paying attention, in many cases in a way they might not have been before.” | Hagan said that Democratic voters, upset over the policy changes enacted in Raleigh, are “paying attention, in many cases in a way they might not have been before.” |
| Tillis said voters feel far more antipathy toward Washington. He said the General Assembly polls far better than Congress and he has no fears about running a campaign while leading the state House — which he said would be a good opportunity to showcase his legislative achievements. | Tillis said voters feel far more antipathy toward Washington. He said the General Assembly polls far better than Congress and he has no fears about running a campaign while leading the state House — which he said would be a good opportunity to showcase his legislative achievements. |
| That record, Tillis said, includes resisting efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. | That record, Tillis said, includes resisting efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. |
| Still, there is no doubt Hagan’s health-care ads have provided potent ammunition to Tillis’s Republican opponents, who have picked up on the same Tillis “great idea” quote as a reason for Republican voters to worry. | Still, there is no doubt Hagan’s health-care ads have provided potent ammunition to Tillis’s Republican opponents, who have picked up on the same Tillis “great idea” quote as a reason for Republican voters to worry. |
| “Anything that we give [Hagan] in terms of baggage from our own lives and our own records is on the table. We should be concerned about that,” said Harris, who has built support among evangelical voters. The health-care issue “needs to be dealt with in this primary.” | “Anything that we give [Hagan] in terms of baggage from our own lives and our own records is on the table. We should be concerned about that,” said Harris, who has built support among evangelical voters. The health-care issue “needs to be dealt with in this primary.” |
| At a GOP barbecue Saturday here in rural and heavily Republican Catawba County, about an hour north of Charlotte, primary voters said the Hagan ad gave them pause. | At a GOP barbecue Saturday here in rural and heavily Republican Catawba County, about an hour north of Charlotte, primary voters said the Hagan ad gave them pause. |
| “Obamacare is not great,” said Dan Johnson, 67, a retired national guardsman from Newton who is supporting Harris. “I just think he’s one of those conservatives who’s conservative until he gets to Washington. Then he becomes part of Washington. That’s how I’ve sized him up.” | “Obamacare is not great,” said Dan Johnson, 67, a retired national guardsman from Newton who is supporting Harris. “I just think he’s one of those conservatives who’s conservative until he gets to Washington. Then he becomes part of Washington. That’s how I’ve sized him up.” |