GOP money group pulls ads from North Carolina Senate race
Left 50%
Center 25%
Right 25%
2 left · 1 center · 1 right
What happened
The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, is diverting advertising money from North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race to Kansas, according to people familiar with its plans cited by The New York Times and The Hill. Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a CNN interview that Republicans should prioritize holding the Senate majority and focus on Maine, Alaska, Ohio and other newly competitive states rather than North Carolina. At the Texas Tribune Festival, strategist Karl Rove said Republicans would not win the Senate races in Georgia or North Carolina. ABC News rates Georgia’s contest between Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and Rep. Mike Collins as likely Democratic and North Carolina’s contest between former Gov. Roy Cooper and former RNC Chair Michael Whatley as leaning Democratic. A Reuters/Ipsos poll put President Donald Trump’s approval rating at 32 percent with 34 days until the midterm elections.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 4 articles
3 of 4 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 4
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Senate Leadership Fund, Ryan Girdusky, DJ Griffin and Americans for Prosperity Action
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 4
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: polling data, advertising data, dataset, news article
- Credits another outlet 0 of 4
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 1 of 4
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 2, 14:27 UTC by Daily Wire, naming its source. First document in the first report, from Daily Wire (polling data).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Washington Examiner reported it on 2026-09-23.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Republicans' own strategists are publicly treating the Georgia and North Carolina Senate races as unwinnable, which left-leaning coverage reports and right-leaning coverage does not. Left-leaning coverage describes pressure to move money out of both states as the president's standing falls and quotes Karl Rove saying "We're not going to win either one." An anonymous Georgia Republican told ABC News the environment had never been this bad. Right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication, so those readers would miss both the on-record pessimism and the reported retreat of national money.
Left-leaning outlets do not tell the same money story. Kansas and the Senate Leadership Fund go unmentioned in the ABC News account, while The New York Times leads with that committee moving money to Kansas and leaves Georgia out.
What dollar amount is leaving North Carolina, and has either Republican campaign lost reserved advertising?
Bottom line
ABC News is reporting a 32% Trump approval rating alongside GOP strategists writing off Georgia and North Carolina. Right-leaning outlets have not carried that story or The New York Times account of a super PAC shifting North Carolina money to Kansas.
The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Karl Rove said of the Georgia and North Carolina Senate races, "We're not going to win either one."
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump's approval rating at 32%.
- Whatley spokesperson DJ Griffin said the campaign is confident it will have the resources to win in North Carolina.
The Left View
ABC News, The New York Times, and The Hill report growing Republican doubts about Senate seats in Georgia and North Carolina, both won by Trump in 2024. ABC describes falling Trump approval, an Iran war, and economic effects as headwinds for Collins and Whatley; quotes North Carolina strategist Doug Heye and an anonymous Georgia Republican on a historically bad GOP environment; and notes strong Democratic candidates, fundraising, and that Collins and Whatley have not distanced themselves from Trump. The Times and The Hill emphasize the Senate Leadership Fund moving money from North Carolina to Kansas as a sign Kansas is a larger threat to the GOP majority. Both campaigns are reported as disputing that they lack national resources, citing continued outside spending and a recent John Thune fundraising stop in Atlanta.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is partly substantive. Established and checkable: Tillis’s and Rove’s public remarks, ABC’s published race ratings, the Reuters/Ipsos approval number, AARP issue polling cited in the ABC piece, and on-the-record statements from the Whatley and Collins campaigns. Alleged, not independently documented in these reports: that the Senate Leadership Fund is actually shifting money from North Carolina to Kansas, which rests on unnamed sources and no cited PAC statement or expenditure filing; the anonymous Georgia Republican’s assessment is unattributed opinion. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for independent-expenditure and FEC filings, an on-the-record Senate Leadership Fund confirmation or denial, and subsequent public polling in Georgia, North Carolina, and Kansas.
3 sources
More stories
The week's bottom lines, in your inbox
One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.