A Republican group is making a last-ditch effort to push the GOP Senate candidate in North Carolina across the finish line by urging young voters to get behind the marijuana-supporting libertarian in the race.
The American Future Fund, which is running the online ad campaign, touts third-party contender Sean Haugh as the only one in the Senate contest who supports legalizing marijuana and opposes war.
The move aims to siphon liberal support from Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, who is locked in one of the country's tightest Senate races again Republican challenger Thom Tillis. (The ads might also persuade conservatives, many of whom generally wouldn't support the ads' message, to stop supporting Haugh.)
AFF was once primarily funded by the billionaire Koch brothers. But a spokesman for Freedom Partners, which doles out funding to vaarious in the Koch network, said it has not given the group any money in the last two years.
The ads appear to have been launched in secret. The group's website and Twitter feed, which contain news releases about other ad campaigns, does not mention the efforts to help Haugh.
A spokesman for the group says the digital buy is for $225,000, and the group could increase the buy later. The ad appeared to one reporter while watching Hulu, and the group has built a makeshift website that includes several different online spots.