Michael Whatley Goes Dark In North Carolina

Republican North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley had no future linear advertisement booked in the state as of Wednesday.

Whatley’s campaign booked no television ads under their name from Wednesday through Election Day, according to AdImpact Politics. They aired their last advertisement the week of Oct. 7.

Former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign booked $7.4 million in future ad reservations, AdImpact reported.

Outside groups booked $11.2 million in future ads in support of Cooper and $4.7 million to back Whatley, according to AdImpact.

Whatley’s and Cooper’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Whatley temporarily pulled television ads on Oct. 7 while they were rethinking their strategy. Republican political action committees (PACs) slashed funding for the North Carolina race to help candidates in red states, including Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Senate Leadership Fund, the Republicans’ top Senate campaign arm, paused their spending in North Carolina after pouring $30 million into the race to support Whatley. Americans for Prosperity Action, a PAC aligned with the Koch brothers, did not include North Carolina in its $22 million list of future spending across key Republican Senate contests.

Old North Action removed $6.5 million in ad reservations in September, Semafor first reported.

WinSenate, a super political action committee (PAC) aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC, removed roughly $1.1 million in North Carolina ad buys while Cooper remained safely ahead. The super PAC had $18.8 million in future reservations for North Carolina through Election Day.