Out-of-State Leftist PAC Hits Holding in Tight 2nd District Race

RALEIGH – The out-of-state money from political PACs is ramping up campaign ads against vulnerable Republicans in North Carolina’s congressional delegation. Linda Coleman is challenging incumbent George Holding in the Old North State’s 2nd District, and the Democrats think they have a chance to pick up a seat in their quest to flip the U.S. House of Representatives.

Poll averages give Coleman a +1 advantage in a district that leans Republican. For context, Holding had a better showing than candidate Donald Trump in 2016, winning by double digits.

While not a figure that comes to mind when thinking of conservative stalwarts, Holding has a respectable voting record with a lifetime ranking of 82 percent from Freedomworks. In other words, he is no Thom Tillis. He’d be a reliable vote for major conservative policies, to the extent that Republican leadership actually pushes them.

Coleman, on the other hand, fits the mold of a modern Democrat/Leftist. She was recently endorsed by former President Barack Obama. If victorious, she would vote with Nancy Pelosi for bigger government, higher taxes, and add to the identity politics bonanza the Democrats specialize in.

As proof of that, national PAC Emily’s List is spending nearly half a million dollars in an ad buy to paint Holding as beholden to the pharmaceutical industry.

WOMEN VOTE!, the independent expenditure arm of the political action committee Emily’s List, which promotes pro-choice Democratic female candidates for Congress, dropped $406,470 on a new ad attacking Holding for allegedly cozying up to the pharmaceutical industry by giving it a $42 million tax break.

The attempt to paint Holding as pro-pharma, and thus anti-patients, is really secondary. The primary takeaway is that a national pro-abortion group is spending big bucks to oust Holding and get their favored pro-abortion candidate into congress.

Is that what the 2nd District really wants – a representative to cast votes against life, and push the rest of the Obama/Leftist agenda? Probably not.

A lot depends on turn out, though, and that means Holding needs to step up to define his opponent for what she is. We already have a few embarrassing Leftists in the U.S. House from North Carolina and they happen to represent pretty blue areas of the state.

The 2nd District is not Chapel Hill. Let’s keep it that way.

As we near election day, expect to see more and more outside money filter into North Carolina and this race in particular. The stakes are high and Democrats smell blood in the water.