Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)

Senate Republicans bankrolled a super PAC that spent millions attempting to take down Democrats’ preferred challenger to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in the North Carolina Democratic primary, new filings show.

The Republican super PAC meddling in the primary is one of the top recipients of “dark money” this cycle. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ preferred candidate, Army veteran Cal Cunningham, is boosted by millions of dollars from a mysterious super PAC that won’t have to disclose its donors until after primary voters cast their ballots.

An obscure super PAC called Faith and Power PAC spent nearly $3 million boosting state Sen. Erica Smith in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s Senate seat. The group also attacked Cunningham, who is more moderate and significantly better funded than Smith. The Democrats will face off in a primary election on March 3.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), accounted for all of the group’s funding. More than one quarter of Senate Leadership Fund’s cash — $7.6 million — came from One Nation, a dark money group that shares staff and offices with the super PAC.

Faith and Power PAC’s ads boost Smith as “the only proven progressive” in the race and note Cunningham’s “A” rating from the National Rifle Association from when he was a state legislator nearly two decades ago. Democrats suspected Republicans were behind the group, as Smith is considered the weaker candidate and has barely any campaign cash left to use in the general election. Smith has disavowed the ads.

Steven Law, a Republican operative who runs both Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, said in a statement Friday that the operation had been “more successful than we could have imagined.” Law noted that Democrats meddled in the 2014 Republican primary in an attempt to hurt Tillis.

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Cunningham is boosted by $4.5 million in outside spending from an obscure super PAC called Carolina Blue, which uses the same ad buyer as Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC. The group was formed in early February and quickly told the Federal Election Commission it would file on a monthly basis. That means it doesn’t have to disclose its donors until March 20, long after Super Tuesday.

Cunningham is backed by another $2.7 million in outside spending from the liberal hybrid PAC VoteVets, which is also backing Democrats’ preferred Senate challenger in Texas and boosting former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the presidential race.

Tillis benefited from an immense $23 million in dark money spending in 2014. Those spenders included a front group that was funded almost entirely by dark money powerhouse Crossroads GPS, which now effectively lives on as One Nation. Carolina Rising, the nonprofit that spent nearly 100 percent of its budget to elect Tillis, drew FEC complaints that didn’t go anywhere. Because Crossroads GPS and One Nation are nonprofits, they don’t have to disclose their donors to the public.

Dark money groups have already poured more than $65 million into super PACs in 2019 alone, a figure that is sure to rise in the coming months. Republican-aligned groups, such as House Republicans’ Congressional Leadership Fund, have reported the largest dark money contributions.

The North Carolina Senate race is powered by big money. Tillis has a whopping $5.4 million cash on hand compared to $1.5 million for Cunningham and less than $128,000 for Smith. If Smith won the primary, Democrats fear they would have little chance of unseating Tillis in November. A recent poll found that Cunningham leads Smith by 15 points, but roughly one-third of primary voters are still undecided.

Prominent Senate Democrats blasted Republicans for meddling in the race, arguing that it showed they are worried about Cunningham’s prospects to defeat Tillis. Republicans counter that Cunningham has never won a federal race, suggesting he isn’t a strong candidate to begin with.



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