In 2021, the Republican U.S. Senate primary in North Carolina saw “unprecedented” outside involvement in the race to prop up candidates and bash their opponents. In 2022, the chaos continues.

• This morning, a new Super PAC backing Marjorie Eastman has funded a full-screen takeover ad  on the News & Observer, a sign that the crowded field of candidates and unlimited outside money is only going to intensify the contest. The group, Restore Common Sense, has  ties to True The Vote, which worked to “root out supposed 2020 voter fraud,” according to recent reporting from Axios.

• Mark Walker is continuing to indicate that he’ll stay in the U.S. Senate race despite former President Trump and his allies pressuring him to run for the U.S House instead. In a series of interviews earlier this week, Walker criticized Budd for benefitting from more than $5 million spent by a DC Super PAC and expressed bitterness about the Trump endorsement, saying: “My hope is in the Judeo-Christian principle values of our founding fathers and not in one individual.” 

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