Ad Intensifies Local Senate Race

But experts say Orange County voters are likely to look past mudslinging and support candidates based on their stances on issues.

The shift in the race's dynamic peaked on Thursday, when many residents received a flier that uses Lee's legislative record to attack his campaign promises. The ad also accuses Lee of lying in campaign materials: "How can you tell when Howard Lee is not telling the truth? He sends you a letter."

The ad was attributed to "the working families" of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, though Lee said it is unknown who exactly is responsible for the ad.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Lee said the ad is the result of an outside group and does not reflect the efforts of the two candidates to keep their campaigns issue-based. He denounced it as sleazy and criticized it for attacking his character and integrity. "To this point Senator Kinnaird and I tried hard to run a clean and issue oriented campaign," he said. "(The ad) is anonymous and doesn't represent the hard-working bulk of the state."

Though SEANC has shown support for Kinnaird, including in an ad that ran in Thursday's Daily Tar Heel, she stated in a press release that it upset her that the ad might be mistakenly identified with her campaign.

"I do not know who paid for the ad. I had no knowledge of the ad, and my campaign was not responsible for it," the press release stated. "From the beginning of this election, I have told everyone in my campaign that I will not engage in negative advertising or endorse such ads in any way."

In an interview, Kinnaird said the decision to create the flier violates her standards.

Several ads released this week by Lee's campaign also reflect the increasingly aggressive nature of the campaign. The ads, which do not mention Kinnaird by name, highlight several issues both senators agree on but state that only Lee has the political clout to affect change.

Lee defended the ads Thursday as being issue-oriented.

But Kinnaird said Lee's campaign has misrepresented her stances on several issues. "There is way too much concern about ads and getting elected, no matter what," she said.

Negative campaign ads do not always have the desired affect, said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life.

Guillory stressed that the typical voter in Orange County tends to be knowledgeable about important issues, making it more difficult for image-based ads to successfully foil a candidate's chances. "In the Kinnaird-Lee race, you've got two well-known candidates, a constituency that's very politically aware and knows these two people very well," Guillory said. "It just doesn't seem that that's the type of tactic that works well. With two well-known, well-respected candidates, an anonymous attack has less potential."

Despite their differences, both candidates agree that mudslinging is uncommon in Orange County.

Voters are more concerned with a candidate's stances on specific issues, Lee said.

Kinnaird said negative campaigning does nothing but tarnish all candidates. She emphasized that she thinks Orange County residents choose to learn about the issues rather than rely on advertising.

But Guillory stressed that it is ineffective to pay attention to anonymous fliers. He said that in elections, it only matters what the candidates have to say, even if it is negative. "You can't stop people from doing anonymous things, but voters ought to be listening to what the candidates say, even about each other."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.