Brannon ad depends on 'money bomb'

Republican Greg Brannon hopes to run the first TV ad of his U.S. Senate campaign, one that hits rival Thom Tillis while establishing his own credentials as "a tea party leader."

The 1-minute ad, shared with reporters, is part bio of the Cary obstetrician and part tea party manifesto in which he pledges to join Senate conservatives like Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas.




To pay for the ad, he's running a "money bomb" through Feb. 17 to raise money to place the ad. He outlined his strategy in an email to supporters.

"As I told you," he wrote, "I can't compete dollar-for-dollar with my opponent on TV ads. After all, he's got D.C. insiders bankrolling his campaign. But if I can go ahead and purchase TV air time right now, I can run my ads on shows like The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity where I can best reach  Republican voters before the May 6 primary. That's why I hope you'll make a contribution to my "Ad Blitz" Money Bomb immediately.

"Our goal is to raise $150,000 by midnight on President's Day, Feb. 17 to help purchase the air time."

That would be more than Brannon's campaign had in the bank at the end of December and less than either Tillis or Charlotte pastor Mark Harris reported.

Brannon, meanwhile, is off the campaign trail this week and in a Raleigh courtroom. He's one of two defendants in a civil case where he's accused of misleading investors.