North Carolina Lt. Governor Praises Ted Budd as ‘Principled, Conservative Choice’ in $1.5M Club for Growth Ad

A massive video ad campaign launched Wednesday features North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) voicing his support for Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) as Budd competes in his state’s Republican primary race for U.S. Senate.

Club for Growth, which has endorsed Budd, spent $1.5 million on the 30-second video ad in which Robinson praises Budd and criticizes Budd’s top rival, former Gov. Pat McCrory (R).

“Now look, I’ve voted for Pat McCrory in the past, but not this time. Pat’s a nice guy, but he’s no conservative,” Robinson begins.

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Robinson then points to instances where McCrory, a former longtime mayor and one-term governor, ceded some form of control to Democrats during his tenures. McCrory “put liberals in charge of state textbooks and supported Democrat judges,” Robinson charges in the ad.

As governor, McCrory appointed 22 members to a textbook commission in 2014 to decide which textbooks should be used in public schools. The John Locke Foundation determined through voter records that 11 were registered Democrats, four were registered Republicans, three were unaffiliated with a party, and four had unavailable records.

The appointments to the commission are technically made by the governor but are recommended by the state superintendent, according to local outlet WRAL, which first reported on the Club for Growth ad. McCrory told the outlet, “The governor’s involvement is basically a formality of following state statute.”

On the claim about judges, the ad references two reports, from 1994 and 2013, of McCrory backing a Democrat judge and reappointing a Democrat judge, respectively.

McCrory, who has been trailing Budd by a double-digit margin in recent polls, accused Club for Growth of “trying to steal this election through deception,” and added that “maybe the new lieutenant governor doesn’t know that law,” according to WRAL.

Club for Growth, a well-funded conservative group, is known for using its deep well of cash to promote candidates, such as Budd, who support limited government and are economically conservative.

Budd, who is also endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was initially an underdog at the start of his campaign but has surged ahead in polls amid Club for Growth pouring millions — $4 million in the primary season and a planned $10 million in the primary’s final weeks — into boosting Budd’s candidacy.

Another candidate in the primary and friend of Robinson is former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), who has remained in the race despite consistently polling in third place. On backing Budd over Walker, Robinson told WRAL, “It was something I really had to pray about. … It was something I did not take lightly because me and him have been very close.”

In Club for Growth’s ad, Robinson says, “This time, we don’t have to settle. I’m throwing my weight — and that’s a lot of weight — behind the principled, conservative choice for U.S. Senate, my friend Ted Budd.”

Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.