The Republican establishment is pulling millions of dollars from Donald Trump's handpicked Senate candidate in North Carolina, redirecting the money to protect incumbents in redder territory — the latest sign that the donor class calling the shots in Washington would rather cut bait on a Trump ally than spend what it takes to hold the line.
The Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Majority Leader John Thune, had pledged $71 million to hold North Carolina's open seat after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis retired. SLF has spent roughly $30 million there. Now it's walking away from the remaining commitment and shifting at least $8.2 million — possibly more than $10 million — to shore up Sen. Roger Marshall in deep-red Kansas, where he's in a surprisingly tight race against a Methodist pastor. Another $20 million is heading to Iowa and $14 million to Ohio. Semafor first reported the shift.
Trump personally recruited Michael Whatley, a former RNC chair, to run for the Tillis seat. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance traveled to North Carolina last month to rally support. It didn't matter. The establishment made its calculation: Whatley is losing, and the money is going elsewhere.
And Whatley is losing. An AARP poll released Monday gave Democrat Roy Cooper, the former governor, an 11-point lead. The RealClearPolitics average puts Cooper up nine. Cook Political Report rates the race
