• Republican Thom Tillis’ Senate campaign launches a new ad referring to a stimulus grant that benefited several companies owned by family members of Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan. See Carolina Journal’s reporting on the stimulus grant, and a separate grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture here, here, here, and here.
http://youtu.be/f2eM40W6PME
• North Carolina mainstream media weighs in, sort of, on the Hagan stimulus/USDA stories. The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill notes that a Koch brothers-founded group will run other ads about the grants, but digs no deeper.
• Several GOP Senate challengers, including Tillis, are criticizing incumbent Democrats’ response to the Ebola outbreak. Hagan has praised the embattled Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s approach.
• In the contest to succeed retiring Democrat Mike McIntyre in the 7th Congressional District, Republican David Rouzer is piling up the cash, outpacing Democrat Jonathan Barfield and Libertarian Wesley Casteen. The three candidates met last night for a debate in Johnston County.
• In the 6th District, Republican Mark Walker raised more in the third quarter than Democrat Laura Fjeld, but Fjeld spent less, so she closes the election season with more cash on hand.
• In the 12th District, longshot Republican Vince Coakley raised slightly more than Democratic Rep. Alma Adams, but the incumbent has much more in the bank and she has benefited from spending by outside groups.
• Editorial note: Check this space every weekday morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. for Dispatches from the campaign trail. I’ll be here through the election, and perhaps beyond. Thanks for reading!
