NC Senate Race Rolls On
The battle of the North Carolina Senate race rages on between Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat incumbent Kay Hagan. Both sides have released multiple ads over the past few weeks, attacking both their opponent’s position and character and supporting their own. Both parties consider the NC senate race as one of the most important in deciding the fate of the senate for the last two years of Obama’s presidency. Accordingly, millions of dollars have been poured into both candidates in what some say could potentially be the most expensive senate race ever. The Charlotte Observer reported that the race could be the first senate race with over 100 million dollars spent in total. As of now, over 22 million dollars has been spent dealing with the race has been called “dark money” from unknown donors. So far, the money has paid for about 80,000 TV ads, at a rate of about three senate ads every five minutes.
According to factcheck.org, many of the claims made in these advertisements range from a misreading of data to blatantly false claims. For example, one Kay Hagan ad claimed that Tillis cut “500 million” from North Carolina education as speaker, while spending actually increase by 700 million. In addition, one Tillis add claimed that Hagan supported a carbon tax that would destroy thousands of jobs, which is an equally false claim.
Both candidates have attempted to tie the other to various statements and positions. Hagan and Tillis have attempted to attack the ethics of the other, with Tillis’ camp suggesting that Hagan’s family profited from a stimulus bill she voted for. Pro-Hagan ads shot back, asserting that Tillis actually profited from land deals made in his personal office. Other ads have attempted to connect Tillis with anti-abortion policies and Hagan with Obamacare and President Obama (the 95% ads).
The election will take place on November 4th. The Eagle Examiner has compiled a non-partisan voter’s guide from a few websites below.
Budget: Did you support raising the Federal debt ceiling with no strings attached?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Campaign Finance: Do you support the DISCLOSE Act, which would require key funders of political ads to put their names on those ads?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: Unknown
Campaign Finance: Do you support the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed unlimited independent political expenditures by corporations and unions?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Unknown
Economy: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Economy: Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Environment: Do you believe that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Environment: Do you support government action to limit the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: Yes
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Hagan: Supports expanded background checks; opposes assault weapons ban and limits on gun magazine size
Tillis: No
Healthcare: Do you support repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Yes
Marijuana: Do you support efforts to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Supports low-THC extract for childhood epilepsy, opposes other medical marijuana
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Yes
Social Issues: Should employers be able to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if they disagree with it morally?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Yes
Social Security: Do you support partial privatization of Social Security?
Hagan: No
Tillis: Unknown
Taxes: Would you increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Hagan: Yes
Tillis: No (Doesn’t support any raise in taxes)
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