A group with close ties to Governor Pat McCrory is spending six figures on TV ads supporting the governor's agenda. The ads will start airing Tuesday in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro.
The ad presents Governor Pat McCrory as a guy having a casual chat with a big group of people at a house.
"We're stepping on the toes of the left and the right to make tough, necessary changes," McCrory says as people nod thoughtfully and piano music plays in the background. (OK, most casual chats at house parties don't include piano music.) "We've already reduced taxes to help families and create jobs."
Renew North Carolina Foundation is paying for the ads. It used to be called the Foundation for North Carolina, and now its chairman is John Lassiter, a former Charlotte city councilman and longtime McCrory ally.
Renew North Carolina is technically a social welfare organization, so it doesn't have to say who its donors are. But some of the biggest donors have had the opportunity to attend two events with McCrory and one with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
And now the foundation is paying for a much broader audience to hear its message.
"We think there's a good, positive story to tell, when there's certainly been a different story told thus far," said Brian Nick, Renew North Carolina spokesman.
He said left-leaning organizations have spun the governor and legislature's accomplishments, and the foundation wants to make sure TV audiences in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro hear the governor's take.
Nick said you can expect to see the ad frequently from now through early October.
