Republican super PAC shifts money from North Carolina to Kansas

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a Republican PAC that raises money and spends on ads supporting GOP Senate candidates, is moving money out of North Carolina and into Kansas, according to a source familiar with SLF’s plans.

The move is a sign that the Kansas race is growing more competitive for Democrats, as polls suggest the GOP’s chances of winning in North Carolina are narrowing.

The PAC is pausing its $30 million advertising campaign in support of Michael Whatley, former Republican National Committee chair, in North Carolina amid his tight race with Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cooper is favored to win , according to elections analysts, and one recent poll had him 11 points ahead.

The change was first reported by Semafor .

North Carolina is still not a slam dunk, however. SLF still has $15 million reserved for the state throughout the fall and President Trump stumped for Whatley in Charlotte in September.

“A Democrat has not won statewide federal office here in nearly two decades, and North Carolina is a 50-50 state,” said Jeff Allen, campaign manager for Cooper. “We’re building a campaign to earn every vote and make sure North Carolinians know that Roy Cooper will fight for them, while Michael Whatley will continue to enrich himself at their expense.

The race in Kansas, usually a safe Republican seat in the Senate, has tightened in recent weeks as Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of one of the state’s largest churches, emerged from the primary field and has garnered attention and money, while taking aim at incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R) support for the unpopular Iran war and other Trump administration policies.

Elections analysts shifted that race slightly more in Democrats’ favor last month, though Marshall is still seen as the favorite.

According to AdImpact, a website that tracks advertising spending in politics, the SLF has reserved $485,000 so far for the Kansas Senate race, and ads are set to begin next week. One ad against Hamilton, released Friday morning , calls him a “two-faced extremist,” pushing against Hamilton’s narrative that he is politically moderate.

The SLF has also recently put more money into Midwest states like Iowa and Ohio , which were once expected to be safer for Republican candidates but now face similar challenges as Kansas.