N.C. Speaker of the House and U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis’s first general election campaign ad aired this week as attention intensifies on an election that may determine which political party controls the upper chamber.
The Charlotte Republican’s ad looks to tap into support from those “tired of being disgusted by the news,” as he puts it. Tillis then sits down at a diner counter and talks about being a paper boy, short-order cook and warehouse clerk before becoming an IBM executive.
Tillis’s ad looks to promote him as a candidate with hard-working values shared by many in the state’s middle and working class.
The most memorable line from the 30-second spot comes from Tillis saying “the federal budget is a joke.”
Hagan and Tillis are currently neck and neck amongst voters, with Hagan's 42 percentage points to Tillis' 38 percentage points, according to a poll released Tuesday by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling with a margin of error at 3 percentage points. Libertarian Sean Haugh polls with the remaining 8 percentage points, according to the poll.
Hagan’s most recent TV ad came out at the end of July and aims to convince voters that they are all on the “same team” — except when it comes to college basketball teams.
In the ad, Hagan touts herself as the moderate senator that voters on the left and right can get behind.
Haugh, a pizza delivery man who has caught the attention of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times among other national media outlets, is working on a shoestring campaign budget and does not plan to have a TV campaign.
Haugh is using YouTube to expand his reach among voters — his video page features three- to four-minute clips of him discussing his positions on topics ranging from the militarization of the police to the death penalty.
Haugh boosts his everyman message by frequently appearing at a counter in a T-shirt. One constant is his stance on civil liberties...and a beer.
In March, both Hagan and Tillis released campaign videos featuring generic clips of the candidates and even more generic music.
The clips are intended to be used by outside groups, including super PACs, without running afoul of campaign finance regulations that prohibit direct coordination between campaigns and outside groups.
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart used similar footage by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell to create the viral #McConnelling sensation.
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