Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's "Godless Americans" ad was nothing more than a last-minute Hail Mary pass for a losing campaign.

That's according to Dole's campaign manager, Marty Ryall, in an article he wrote for the March edition of Politics magazine.

Dole, the GOP incumbent, ran the ad just before the Nov. 6 election against Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. It pointed out that Hagan attended a Boston fundraiser at the home of a well-known, politically active atheist. The ad ended with Hagan's photograph and a woman's voiceover saying "There is no God."

That voice belonged not to Hagan but to the executive director of the Godless Americans political action committee, speaking during a television appearance.

Looking back, Ryall said, he shouldn't have used the voiceover.

"It gave (Hagan) another avenue to counter-attack (the ad)," Ryall wrote.

He continues later: "In the end, the "Godless" ad had little impact on the election."

More after the jump.

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole says she raised more than $2.1 million in the second quarter.

In a press release, the Salisbury Republican's campaign announced that it had $2.7 million in cash on hand at the end of the second quarter.

"With about 12 thousand donors and a $148 average contribution, Senator Dole is honored to have the support of so many dedicated North Carolinians and we are excited about the success of our grassroots fundraising effort," said campaign manager Marty Ryall in a statement.

The Dole campaign noted that those figures were starting from April 1. The amount from April 17 forward
 was $1.69 million.

Democratic rival Kay Hagan said earlier this week that she raised $1.6 million since April 1, or $1.5 million since April 17. Her cash on hand was 1.2 million.

That means that Dole had 2 1/4 times as much cash at the end of the quarter. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has announced her county coordinators.

The Salisbury Republican's 100 grassroots coordinators will organize neighborhood walks, hand out campaign literature and set up yard signs for her campaign.

"Senator Dole has traveled to all 100 counties in North Carolina at least twice," said campaign manager Marty Ryall in a statement.

The list includes Republican state Reps. John Blust of Greensboro and Laura Wiley of High Point; Phil Berger, Jr., son of the state Senate minority leader; and Yancey County Sheriff Kermit Banks.

Wake County's coordinators are LaRinda Huntley-Kaplan, Suzan Maddox and Laura Neely; Mecklenburg's is Linda Jones; and Guilford's are Blust, Wiley, Dena Barnes and Kumar Lakhavani.

A full list after the jump.

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign has one more caveat on that 527 ad.

In an e-mail to Dome, campaign manager Marty Ryall notes another problem with Majority Action's radio ad attacking Dole's 2003 vote against a provision to raise mileage standards.

As Ryall points out, the amendment failed 65-32.

"If Senator Dole had voted for the amendment it would have failed 33 to 64 instead of 32 to 65," Ryall writes. "(Is) Majority Action running any ads against the 18 Democrats that voted the same way as Senator Dole?"

They have a fair point about the group running ads against Democrats, especially since it is a so-called "issue ad" that supposedly has nothing to do with the ongoing Senate race.

But the ad is artfully worded to avoid singling Dole out for blame:

"Gas prices are over $4 a gallon, and if you're traveling this holiday weekend one person you can thank for your higher fuel costs is Elizabeth Dole." (Emphasis ours)

Of course, if you're paying a lot for gas because you drive a car, truck or SUV that gets low gas mileage, another person you can thank is yourself.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole faced two key votes on mileage standards in 2003.

At the time, the U.S. Senate was considering a mammoth energy bill, with debate going on for more than two months. Two of the many proposed amendments to the bill touched on Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars, trucks and SUVs.

At the time, the mileage standards were 27.5 mpg for cars and 20 mpg for SUVs and minivans.

Durbin Amendment: Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, proposed raising mileage standards by specific amounts, including a benchmark of 32 miles per gallon by 2008. The amendment failed 65-32, with Dole voting against it.

On the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the existing standards were causing "more air pollution" and "creating a bigger soup in the atmosphere to heat up our planet Earth."

Bond-Levin Amendment: Sens. Christopher Bond, a Missouri Republican, and Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, then proposed directing the Secretary of Transportation to raise mileage standards to the "maximum feasible" amount. The amendment passed 66-30, with Dole voting for it.

Arguing for his amendment, Bond said that too-high standards would lead to more dangerous car accidents and said that car buyers favor safety over mileage standards.

In the end, both votes were a moot point, since the Senate energy bill was shelved and never came to a vote.

In an e-mail to Dome today, a Dole staffer said the Durbin standards were "arbitrary" and would have favored foreign automakers.

"The amendment that was rejected would have been unrealistic and have cost thousands of manufacturing jobs," wrote Marty Ryall.

There has been a shakeup in the Senate campaign of GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

J. Sam Daniels, the campaign manager, has been shifted into the role of a top fund raiser, Rob Christensen reports. He will be replaced by Marty Ryall, who until recently ran the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Graham.

Daniels is a former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party and he had also worked in the 2000 gubernatorial campaign of Bill Cobey.

There was no immediate reason given for the shuffle. But recent polls have shown that Dole has a much closer race against Democrat Kay Hagan than many had anticipated.

No immediate word from the Dole campaign.

Bill Graham has parted ways with a campaign consultant.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate's new campaign manager, Marty Ryall, issued a statement today saying he would no longer be working with a firm run by former Raleigh mayor Tom Fetzer and Mark Stephens.

"Through a cordial and mutual agreement we are no longer working with Fetzer Stephens," he said in a statement. "We appreciate the work Tom and Mark have done for the campaign and we wish them all the best in the future."

Fetzer Stephens has worked with Graham since 2005, including managing his campaign to cap the state gas tax. Graham paid the firm more than $2.3 million to buy air time, produce ads and give consulting services on that issue before starting his gubernatorial bid.

The firm managed his campaign until mid-December, when he officially hired Ryall, a former adviser to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Bill Graham has named Marty Ryall as his campaign manager.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate announced today that he hired the former adviser to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 1993 campaign for lieutenant governor.

In a statement, Huckabee, now a presidential candidate, praised Ryall.

"I've tried twice to hire him for my presidential campaign and both times, someone has beaten me to it," he said. "They are smart to get him, and I wish I'd called sooner!"

Ryall also successfully managed the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell and Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and served as a member of the Bush-Cheney Florida recount team in 2000.

He chaired the Arkansas Republican Party from 2002 to 2003.