John McCain is borrowing from Bill Graham.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee uses footage of a gas pump from an 2006 ad by Graham's N.C. Conservatives United, which campaigned to cap the state's gas tax.

Both ads blame Democrats for high gas prices. The McCain ad attacks presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama for his opposition to offshore drilling, while the Graham ad argues the state's Democratic leaders weren't doing enough on the gas tax.

McCain and Graham have both used Strategic Perception, a Hollywood-based ad production company.

It's not the first time that the two candidates have had similar thoughts.

The presidential nominee argued for limiting a federal gas tax over the summer to help with rising gas prices.

Hat Tip: David Ingram

A new ad by Republican presidential candidate John McCain borrows footage from an ad by N.C. Conservatives United, a group led by former gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham. See the ad on YouTube here.

Bill Graham hasn't run campaign ads yet.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate plans to hit the airwaves "sometime between now and May 6," jokes his spokesman, Aaron Lay.

A spokesman for rival Pat McCrory noted yesterday that "at least two other candidates" have run TV ads in his explanation for their recent ad buy.

But that includes Graham's pre-gubernatorial-run ads for N.C. Conservatives United, which focused on the gas tax and illegal immigration.

Those ads ran in 2006.

State Sen. Fred Smith has run TV ads, while former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr has not.

Bill Graham's campaign aims to portray him as an outsider — with a record.

In an interview with CQPolitics.com, a campaign consultant for the Salisbury attorney said he is not an insider, unlike former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and state Sen. Fred Smith.

Mark Stephens, a consultant for Graham, said his client is the only Republican contender who has not spent a lifetime in elected positions in North Carolina. "Bill is truly an outsider candidate, but he's also an outsider candidate who's actually been able to impact policy in Raleigh," Stephens said, referring to Graham's work on the gas tax issue.

Through a group he funded, N.C. Conservatives United, Graham successfully pushed for a limit on the state's gas tax last year. The group also ran ads against illegal immigration.

N.C. Conservatives United is best known for its efforts to cap the gas tax.

Started by Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, the political advocacy group mounted a successful campaign in 2006 to limit the tax and a smaller effort urging the legislature to tackle illegal immigration.

In its December 2005 filing with the Internal Revenue Service, the advocacy group first mentioned a much different purpose: Supporting the Iraq war.

The purpose of North Carolina Conservatives United, Inc., is to inform the public of the need for a strong national defense and a well-equipped and well-trained military as well as the importance of completing the multinational effort to liberate Iraq. The organization also exists to promote fiscal responsibility in state and federal government and to advocate the benefits of low taxation.

Neither Graham nor Conservatives United has said much about Iraq, but as a delegate to the 2004 Republican convention, Graham told the Charlotte Observer he supported the war.

The group has been inactive since Graham announced he would run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination earlier this year.

Bill Graham gave a total of $2.3 million to his political advocacy group.

According to Internal Revenue Service forms made available this week, the Salisbury attorney gave a total of $2,302,028 between December of 2005 and February of 2007 to N.C. Conservatives United, an advocacy group he started to fight the gas tax and illegal immigration.

The next largest donor was Larry T. Cloninger Jr., president of Cloninger Ford-Toyota in Salisbury, who gave a total of $100,000 in November and December of last year.

The only other donors to the group were William Frank Lee of Smithfield, who gave $6,000; Herchel Rogers Sr. of Good Neighbors New Hanover County, which gave $193; and Catherine M. Earle of Fayetteville, who gave $15.

The bulk of the money — a total of $2,292,563 — went to Fetzer Stephens, a Raleigh consulting firm, to produce ads, buy air time and give consulting services. Another $6,442 went directly to consultant Tom Fetzer, who was last paid in May, shortly before Graham announced his campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

According to the 2007 mid-year report, the group has $5,413 left.