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The National Federation of Independent Business has launched a state-wide radio campaign on behalf of Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

The NFIB's Save America's Free Enterprise Trust is spending $126,763 for a week of advertising on behalf of Burr in a campaign that began Monday and that was scheduled to run through Oct. 4th, according to the Federal Election Commission.

The campaign was part of a $573,000 national buy by the NFIB in 13 races across the country. The campaign for Burr was among the largest the group funded.

The NFIB effort is one more advantage for Burr whose well funded campaign has been on the air for several weeks, while his opponent, Democratic Senate candidate Elaine Marshall has been unable to afford any paid media.

Republican Senate candidate Richard Burr has launched his first negative TV ad, criticizing Democratic opponent Elaine Marshall.

The TV commercial is a soft-focused attack that features the two elderly gents in a rocking chair, accusing Marshall of backing added government spending and the so-called cap and trade energy proposal.

“Six trillion is what Elaine Marshall wants in new government spending,” says one actor.

“We're already 14 trillion in debt,” says the second old gent.

Adds an actress playing a granddaughter: “And look what that go us, high unemployment, a bad economy.”

The first actor later adds, “Elaine Marshall just doesn't get it.”

One of the actors also says Marshall backs a “cap-and-trade energy tax” which it says will lead to higher utility rates.

Since he went up earlier this month, Burr had been running positive ads.

Marshall's campaign put out an e-mail alert asking for contributions so they could begin airing their own TV commercials to counter what they called the Burr campaign's “lies.”

“Yesterday, Senator Burr used the millions he's taken from big corporations and special interests to launch the first negative attack of the race,” wrote Sam Swartz, Marshall's campaign spokesman. “After 16 years in Washington, Senator Burr doesn't want to talk about his own record, so he's using actors to lie about Elaine Marshall's.”

The Burr campaign cited as evidence that Marshall wanted wants six trillion in new government spending her support for cap-and-trade legislation, her backing of the health care law, her support for the stimulus package (a third of which were tax cuts), and her support for allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those making more than $250,000 per year.

The ad features the same two actors used in 2008 ads by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to attack Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. And like the anti-Dole ad, it makes a play on numbers.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr holds a 20-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Elaine Marshall, according to a new poll by the conservative leaning Civitas Institute.

The survey found that if the election were held today, Burr would get 49 percent of the vote, Marshall would receive 29 percent, with 17 percent undecided. Libertarian candidate Michael Beitler would have the backing of 3 percent.

Burr's commanding lead was the result of a 2-1 lead among unaffiliated voters, and overwhelming support among Republicans. Marshall has yet to consolidate her support among Democrats, winning just 51 percent.

“Marshall has been virtually non-existent in the media throughout the course of this election cycle,” said Chris Hayes, an analyst with the Civitas Institute, a Raleigh-based think tank. “Burr's dominance of the television airwaves has allowed him to expand his lead.”

The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted Sept. 15-17 by National Research Inc. of Holmdel, New Jersey. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

UPDATE: The Marshall campaign downplayed the poll. "After spending $2 million of his special interest money on TV ads, this right-wing group says that Senator Burr has managed to push his hard support to only 38 percent," said Sam Swartz, Marshall's campaign spokesman.

"The reason for that is clear: In an Elon Poll released today, 49 percent of North Carolinians say 'it is time to give a new person a chance,' while only 29 percent think Senator Burr should be reelected," Swartz said.

Former four-term Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt gave his political blessing to Senate candidate Elaine Marshall Thursday, calling her “a wonderful, caring, understanding, determined leader.”

Hunt introduced Marshall, the Democrat, at Bill Ellis' Barbecue to a hometown breakfast crowd. Former First Lady Carolyn Hunt made sure a basket was at the door, and according to her husband, wrote a $500 contribution.

The former governor said he had contributed the maximum amount to Marshall's campaign.

“She needs the money because all the Washington lobbyists are not behind her,” Hunt said. “They know good and well (that) she is her own person.”

(Hunt's law firm, Womble Carlyle, the state's biggest, is the third largest contributor to Republican Sen. Richard Burr's campaign, with its lawyers having given $62,030 and having hosted at least one D.C. fundraiser for Burr, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watch dog group based in Washington.)

Hunt touted Marshall's record in the state Senate on education, economic development and crime.

The Marshall event attracted some media attention, including a Washington-based crew from the BBC.
  

Libertarian Senate candidate Michael Beitler has an unusual ally – Democratic Senate hopeful Elaine Marshall.

Marshall has been subtly trying to boost the candidacy of Beitler, apparently on the theory that he will take votes from Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr,  Rob Christensen reports.

The Marshall campaign let it be known that it would have welcomed with open arms Beitler's participation in the two statewide televised debates sponsored by the broadcasters association and was disappointed when he was excluded.

Appearing on an hour-long interview with WFAE, Charlotte's public radio station Thursday night, Marshall put in a plug for Beitler saying “a lot of people are not aware there are three choices in this race.”

A new statewide poll shows the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Elaine Marshall is beginning even.

Marshall has received a bounce from her Democratic primary victory Tuesday and now trails Burr by a statistically insignificant margin of 44-43 percent, according to Rasmussen Reports.

The poll found seven percent would choose another candidate and six percent undecided, Rob Christensen reports.

Earlier this month,  Rasmussen found that Burr held a 50-36 percent lead over Marshall.

The poll was highest level of support for Marshall and the lowest level of support for Burr since February in the Rasmussen poll.

“Another concern for Burr is that incumbents who earn less than 50 percent of the vote at this stage of a campaign are considered politically vulnerable, and no incumbent has been reelected to the seat he holds since 1968,” the polling report said.

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on June 22, the same day as the Democratic primary runoff. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The survey also found that 60 percent favor repealing the new health care law. Twenty-six percent consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement.

The poll also found that 58 percent support off shore drilling. Forty-percent approve of the job that President Barack Obama is doing and 44 percent approve of the job that Gov. Bev Perdue is doing.