I smell some GOP rat fucking going on:

Thom Tillis (R) in November. A mysterious outside group that sprang into existence only last week will spend more than $1 million in television advertisements backing North Carolina state Sen. Erica Smith (D), one of the candidates running to challenge Sen.(R) in November.

The group has made heavy buys in the Charlotte, Greenville, Raleigh and Greensboro markets, according to multiple sources familiar with the North Carolina ad market, with advertising set to run over the next two weeks.

The ad spending is significant because it is the first major investment into Smith’s campaign. Smith, who represents a district on North Carolina’s northern border with Virginia, has raised just over $210,000, according to her most recent report filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

“Who’s the Democrat for U.S. Senate endorsed by progressives and unions? Erica Smith. Who’s got the courage to vote for 'Medicare for All?' Erica Smith. The number one supporter of the Green New Deal? Erica Smith again. Erica Smith is one of us,” a narrator says in the ad. “Vote Democrat Erica Smith for U.S. Senate, the only proven progressive.”

President Trump The spending is also notable because the group behind it, Faith and Power PAC, appears to have ties to Republicans. Filings made with the FEC on Jan. 29, when the group was formed, show it will bank with Chain Bridge Bank, a financial institution founded by former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) that frequently does business with Republican political committees, including’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.