GOP to spend big bucks going after Bowles

[Thrill]

National GOP buys TV time for Burr campaign

Party to spend nearly $3 million for advertising

MARK JOHNSON

Raleigh Bureau

The national Republican Party plans to pump nearly $3 million in advertising into North Carolina starting next month to boost GOP Senate candidate Richard Burr.

That figure does not include any commercial time in the state's two most populous, and most expensive, media markets, Charlotte and Raleigh, suggesting that more money could flow later.

The commercials are scheduled to run from Sept. 7 up to election day, Nov. 2. The Republicans' purchase of advertising time that far in advance suggests they are concerned about North Carolina turning into a battleground state and the national and state campaigns buying up the advertising time, said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, which monitors advertising purchases.

"There will be so many dollars flowing into political campaigns over the next 70 days," Tracey said, "It's kind of like, get your place holder in now ... make sure you don't get shut out."

Former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, the Democratic candidate, disclosed Wednesday that he called Burr in June and had a discussion in which Bowles proposed limiting both outside money in the campaign and total campaign spending. Burr, a congressman from Winston-Salem, said he would think about it and get back to Bowles but never did, according to Bowles.

A spokesman for Burr said no decision had been made in the eight weeks since the phone call but that it was impossible to keep outside groups from running independent advertisements. He also said Burr thought the conversation had been private.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which helps GOP Senate candidates across the country, has committed to buying $2.9 million worth of advertising time in several N.C. markets, according to Democratic campaign operatives who monitor advertising purchases and advertising officials at several television stations. Republican Party officials did not dispute the figures.

Much of the advertising is targeted in Eastern North Carolina, where the two parties often end up fighting over conservative Democrats.

North Carolina is holding both a U.S. Senate election, to fill the seat that Democratic Sen. John Edwards is vacating, and a governor's race, both of which will include several million dollars in television advertising.

Normally, the state sees little presidential campaign advertising because it is considered safely Republican, but Edwards' placement as the Democratic vice presidential candidate has helped push the state into a more contested category that could involve TV ads.

Changes in campaign finance laws have driven the national parties to channel money into outlets other than the campaigns themselves.

That restructuring has fueled predictions by both Republicans and Democrats that outside money would cascade into North Carolina to help influence the Senate race.

Although Bowles enjoys a healthy lead in polls, strategists in both parties expect a close vote.

"It causes me great concern that (the NRSC) is going to come in here and probably do negative advertising," Bowles said Wednesday after an education discussion with students, teachers and parents at a Raleigh high school.

Early in June, Bowles publicly proposed that he and Burr agree to ask all outside organizations to stay out of the state and not buy advertising here to try and influence the campaign.

Bowles offered the idea after a pro-Burr organization, Americans for Job Security, began spending more than $500,000 on ads promoting Burr. (Last week, the League of Conservation Voters pledged to spend several hundred thousand dollars on ads that benefit Bowles.)

Bowles, a millionaire investment banker, later expanded the offer, pledging to not invest any of his own money in the race but did so only after contributing a half-million dollars to his own campaign. Burr rejected the offer.

A few days later, a column in the Observer prompted Bowles to call Burr and talk about the money limits one-on-one.

Burr said he'd think about it but never called back, according to Bowles.

"Now I know why," Bowles said, after being asked about the national Republican money.

Doug Heye, Burr's spokesman, said Burr "was under the impression from Erskine that it was a private call. Richard was a man of his word on this one."

He confirmed that the two talked about money limits.

"Obviously no agreement was reached. Richard felt it was an ongoing thing. We hadn't made a decision," Heye said of the more than eight weeks since the phone call.

"Even if a decision had been made, it's impossible to keep a third party out of an election."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/politics/9437992.htm?ERIGHTS=-5120074217972468398charlotte::[e-mail]&KRD_RM=9pprsqwrqyxqsrrvtwpppppppp|ric|N

[roguevalley]

1. I would love to see Bowles win. The general IQ of the world would go up

300% if he had a say in things again.

[Ghetto_Boy]

2. Again?