• Greensboro City Council member Zack Matheny is on the air with his first TV ad in his quest to win the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District. Nine Republicans have filed in the primary contest.
• On her website, incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan goes after Republican challenger Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, for his opposition to a state-level “pay equity” bill addressing presumed differences between compensation for men and women in the workplace. Hagan recently co-sponsored a federal measure that passed the Senate. Meantime, the N.C. Republican Party reminds voters that Hagan continues to support Obamacare, notwithstanding projections that the law will cause insurance premiums to continue surging.
• WRAL reverses course and invites Charlotte pastor Mark Harris to its April 23 GOP Senate candidate debate. Initially, the television station only asked candidates scoring 10 percent or more in a poll it commissioned. After the Harris campaign noted his frequent top-three finishes in other polls, station officials changed their minds. Harris will join Tillis, Dr. Greg Brannon of Cary, and Wilkesboro nurse Heather Grant in the debate.
• National Review Online takes note of the battle for the 3rd Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Walter Jones’ foreign policy stances have attracted the ire (and money) of Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol and other backers of an assertive foreign policy supporting Israel; they’re backing Taylor Griffin, who’s running against Jones in the GOP primary.
• The Biotechnology Industry Organization names Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-2nd District, the trade association’s Legislator of the Year.
• To keep up with Carolina Journal Online’s profiles of primary races for federal and state offices, be sure to visit CJ Online daily. An archive of all 2014 campaign-related stories is here.
