A mailer from the governor's race is also up for a national award.

The piece, called "Big Perks," attacked Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory for accepting a free trip to Paris while mayor of Charlotte.

"You could win a free trip to Paris..." the front of the mailer says, featuring a lottery ticket that says "Big Perks" on it. The back reveals the punchline: "...If your name is Pat McCrory." 

The mailer is one of the finalists in Politics magazine's Reed Awards. It was produced by Thomas Mills Communications, which has offices in Carrboro and Washington, D.C.

Two North Carolina TV ads from last year for Rep. Walter Jones and against Sen. Elizabeth Dole have also been nominated. 

Two North Carolina political ads from the past year are finalists for national awards.

One commercial is for Congressman Walter Jones and it features the endorsement by former Marine Ilario Pantano, who was initially accused of killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents. The charges were later dropped when a military tribunal found there was no credible evidence, Rob Christensen reports.

"When this Marine was in a jam and there was a rush to judgement to take away my liberty," Pantano said, "Walter Jones came to my defense."

The ad was created by Rotterman & Associates, the Raleigh-based political consulting firm headed by the husband-wife team of Marc and Karen Rotterman. The ad is one of three finalists for Republican congressional candidates.

Another finalist is the rocking chair ad run by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee against Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

That ad featured two elderly men at Bynum General Store in Chatham County speculating on whether Dole was 92 or 93. The men were actually speculating on effectiveness ratings and the percentage of time she voted with President Bush — not her age.

The ad was produced by Squier Knapp Dunn Communications of Washington, D.C. It is a finalist in the category of state candidate races.

The winner of the Reed Awards, sponsored by Campaigns & Elections, will be announced at a dinner in Washington on Jan. 22.