527 group targeting Bradford and Caulfield in NC98 & NC92 also behind controversial ad for NC Supreme Court

You know your ad has crossed a line when it's attacking a Republican and even Public Radio questions it.

Facts Without Context? The ‘Snake’ Ad Focuses Attention On Fight For Control Of The NC Supreme Court. -WFAE.org

Then again, when it's the same outfit that has been flooding mailboxes here in North Mecklenburg with attack ads maybe it's not all that surprising.

NC Families First, the 527 group out of Raleigh funded with big $$$ from Washington, DC, is the group behind the recent ad attacking Justice Bob Edmunds in his reelection bid to the NC Supreme Court. NCFF is the same group covered extensively here at aShortChronicle this election season. (See here, here, and here.)

The WFAE story hits the highlights on the issues around the opaqueness of the money behind this group, but it misses a few key points.

WFAE mentions some of the big DC donors covered in our earlier story, but they miss the fact that the man behind NC Families First, a lawyer out of Raleigh named Michael Weisel, is the same person behind multiple of these 527 and 501(c)4 organizations.

On 10/18 and 10/19 NC Families First received payments totaling $1.595 million and by 10/21 had spent over $900,000 on ads against Bob Edmunds.

The groups supplying the funds were Make North Carolina First and Real Facts NC.  Both of these groups are also connected to Weisel.   His signature is on their campaign finance docs and other documentation as well.  In fact, searching the sites for the NC Board of Elections, IRS, FollowNCMoney.org, OpenSecrets.org, and the NC Secretary of State one finds at least 6 different groups Weisel works with/for in North Carolina politics.

Michael Weisel seems to be the center of gravity of a coordinated effort when it comes to moving large sums of money around in support of left leaning causes and candidates.  It is an effort that is willing to spend several million dollars this election cycle.

Now, in addition to targeting races in the state legislature, that money is looking to take control of the NC Supreme Court.