As detailed by The Hill, Ross has seen her poll numbers slip, burned through campaign cash, and lost out on a key endorsement from the Winston-Salem Journal.
After being turned down by not one, not two, not three, but FOUR, potential recruits, the DSCC gave up on their North Carolina recruitment efforts and endorsed Deborah Ross. The liberal Washington-based EMILY’s List also endorsed her.
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Anti-establishment mood roils Senate Democratic primaries
The Hill
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The media’s fixation on Trump has overshadowed surprisingly competitive Senate Democratic primaries in key states such as North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In North Carolina and Ohio, the establishment-backed Democrats are up in the polls but spending heavily ahead of the March 15 primaries. They’re expected to win, but they’ll enter the general election with considerably less cash on hand than their Republican opponents.
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In North Carolina, a Public Policy Polling survey last month showed former state Rep. Deborah Ross, the candidate backed by the Democratic establishment, leading rival Chris Rey, a local mayor, with 22 percent support compared to his 10 percent. But the poll also found that 55 percent of Democratic primary voters were undecided.
The DSCC endorsed Ross in January, but Rey picked up a key endorsement this week from the Winston-Salem Journal, which lauded him as “the most qualified to bring a sorely needed fresh perspective to Washington.”
Ross is trying to seal the deal by going up on the air with television and radio ads, but it’s costing her campaign. Her newly filed pre-primary Federal Election Commission report shows she’s raised $337,000 but spent $498,000 in the first two months of 2016. Her defenders argue her burn rate is so high because she entered the race only recently.
Also concerning for Ross is that her poll numbers have slipped from where they were in October. A PPP poll from that month showed her with 33 percent support and a 27-point lead on Rey.
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