Attack ads...

GOP women’s super PAC hits male candidate in N.C. special election

By LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ

The Winning For Women Action Fund launched an ad buy Monday in the Republican runoff for North Carolina’s 3rd district, jumping into its first primary of the cycle on behalf of GOP female candidates.

The six-figure ad buy seeks to boost Joan Perry, a pediatrician, by attacking her opponent in next month's Republican primary runoff, state Rep. Greg Murphy — the frontrunner in the special election to replace the late Rep. Walter Jones. Perry is backed by Winning For Women and all 13 of the GOP women in the House.

The 30-second ad hits Murphy for praising “programs” in Obamacare and voting to raise fees on boat and plane owners.

“Greg Murphy: Just another out of touch tax and spend politician,” the ad states.

The ad, which was first provided to POLITICO, also hits Murphy for a 2016 quote in which he characterizes President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s race in 2016 as being the “worst top of the ticket we’ve had in our history.”

Winning For Women and the national Republicans supporting Perry argue she is more conservative and a better match for the district. But Murphy has attracted the help of Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows and has also tried to claim the conservative mantle.

"We need more qualified women in Congress, and NC-03 is an opportunity for Republicans to do just that," Winning For Women Executive Director Rebecca Schuller said in a statement provided to POLITICO. "We helped Dr. Perry get to the runoff, and we're going to make sure she gets over the finish line."

The July 9 runoff presents the first real test of Republican’s new efforts to elect more women by playing in primaries. After seeing the number of female Republican members dramatically shrink in 2018, Winning For Women formed a super PAC dedicated entirely to helping propel women across the finish line. Republican members like Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York sounded the alarm, telling POLITICO at the time that “we are at a crisis level for GOP women.”

But GOP recruitment of women and the resources available to them lags behind Democrats, and Winning For Women is the only super PAC of its kind for female candidates on the Republican side. If Perry fails, it will highlight the limits of Republicans’ cash-only strategy to help women candidates heading into 2020.

“It would be awesome if the first election after the midterms, Republican voters chose a woman. It would send a strong message,” Winning For Women Action Fund spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas told POLITICO last month.

The winner of the July runoff is favored to win the Sept 10 general election.