Washington, D.C. – This week, LCV Victory Fund and BlackPAC are up with $500,000 in new radio ads in support of Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate and opposing Rep. Ted Budd, who is a member of LCVVF’s 2022 Dirty Dozen list of the worst anti-environment and anti-democracy candidates. During this midterm election cycle, BlackPAC has invested in a seven-figure program in North Carolina that includes, radio, digital, field, and direct mail, to encourage Black voters to use their power in November. These ads are LCV Victory Fund’s first investment in the North Carolina Senate race this year.

LISTEN: “We Choose” (60 sec)

The ads highlight Beasley’s commitment to protecting the environment, lowering costs, protecting voting rights, and protecting reproductive freedom, and contrast Beasley with extreme Trump candidate Ted Budd, who said the insurrection on January 6 was, “just patriots standing up.” Two versions of “We Choose,” :60 and :30 seconds, will run on radio stations statewide until the election on November 8.

“North Carolinians have the opportunity to send their first Black female Supreme Court Chief Justice, a proven environmental champion who has spent her entire life fighting for justice, to the U.S. Senate – we’re thrilled to work with BlackPAC in support of former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley,” said Eva Estrada, LCV Victory Fund Regional Campaigns Director. “Dirty Dozen member and climate and election denier Rep. Ted Budd, on the other hand, is not just dirty – he’d be an extraordinarily dangerous senator for North Carolina and the country.”

“This November 8, our rights are on the ballot. Cheri Beasley uniquely understands the freedoms that are at stake in the Midterms because she protected many of them while Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court,” said Adrianne Shropshire, Executive Director of BlackPAC. “Black voters should no longer have to endure the policies of elected officials who support insurrectionists and white supremacists. That is why BlackPAC is proud to partner with LCV Victory Fund to reach Black North Carolina voters and lift up what we are fighting for in our communities.”

Cheri Beasley’s candidacy provides a historic opportunity to be the first Black woman to serve North Carolina — and only the third Black woman ever — in the United States Senate. Beasley is not afraid of seizing history — she was the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Prior to that seminal post, Beasley worked her way up from starting out as an assistant public defender, to state district court judge, to a judge on the state’s Court of Appeals, before most recently serving as a justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court.

LCV Victory Fund added Beasley’s opponent Rep. Ted Budd to the 2022 House and Senate Dirty Dozen list in July. Budd is a climate denier, had a staggering 0% LCV score in 2021, and has a 3% lifetime score. Rep. Budd has said he didn’t see “clear evidence” that humans were contributing to global warming, then later said “there isn’t agreement on how much” humans contributed. Budd has also said that the answer to the current energy crisis is to produce more fuel in the U.S., and his anti-environment votes include opposing the Inflation Reduction Act, voting against the overwhelmingly popular Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, and many different votes to allow toxic pollution to spew into our air and water. Budd also supported the Big Lie and voted against certifying election results in AZ and PA on January 6.

The full script of the 60 second version of the radio ad is below.

“We Choose” (60 seconds)
It’s the time of year when everywhere I turn,
Someone is telling me what to care about, and how I should feel
But this is our community,
And no one knows better than us what matters
That’s why I’m voting for Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate
I want a senator that stands up for us
Someone who’ll work to make things more affordable
Protect our environment
Fight for our voting rights and for women to make their own healthcare decisions
That’s Cheri Beasley
Her opponent, Republican Ted Budd, is dangerous
He’s Trump’s candidate,
And Budd says January 6th was, now get this,
‘Just patriots standing up’
We don’t need another senator who won’t represent our community,
Supporting extreme ideas that take us backward
We have the power to elect someone who’s for us … let’s use it
Vote Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate on, or before, November 8th

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Paid for by BlackPAC, www.blackpac.com, and LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.