Weary N.C. voters ready to decide nation’s most expensive Senate race

Reporting from Charlotte, N.C. —  John Haviland had two thoughts when he woke up Tuesday: One, it was election day, and he had to make time to vote. Two, thank God for the end of the political ad war.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Haviland, a Charlotte resident who voted for Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. “I don’t recall seeing anything like this. And I don’t know that either candidate will do a quality job for North Carolina.”

The U.S. Senate race here between Hagan and Republican Thom Tillis, speaker of the state House, has been a high-volume mudfest for nearly a year. Republicans hungry for a Senate majority saw the first-term Hagan as vulnerable, and the party, along with outside conservative groups, poured millions of dollars into the state in an attempt to link her to President Obama. Democrats and outside groups saw her seat as crucial for saving their majority, and went on the attack against Tillis.

The result was the most expensive Senate race ever, with spending around $107 million, and close to 100,000 ads. Turnout was reported to be brisk at several polling places here on a sunny and crisp morning. With Hagan holding only a slim lead, both sides also invested in get-out-the-vote efforts.

“I thought it was a joke. They were just bashing each other,” said Garth Sweet, a 49-year-old landscaper who says he voted for Tillis. “I’ll tell you, I’m glad I got caller ID on the telephone. My dad got so many calls last night, he just took the phone off the hook.” Most of the spending came not from the candidates, but from outside groups on both sides, a fact that stirred resentment from several voters.

“What bothers me more than anything is the outside interests, these PACs from all over the country that came in here,” said Sid Thomasson, 66, a Democratic voter who said he had teachers in his family, and resented reductions in education spending by the Republican state Legislature.

That was a major theme of the Democratic ad attack; Republicans, meanwhile, hammered Hagan for voting more than 90% of the time with Obama. The messages got through: several voters mentioned a spelling bee ad aired here and in other states by Crossroads GPS, a nonprofit started by Republican operative Karl Rove. Asked to spell Hagan, a girl responds O-B-A-M-A. “Close enough,” the judges say.

The Tillis campaign has worked hard to reinforce the message. When Obama recorded a late radio ad endorsing Hagan, the Tillis campaign quickly put it on YouTube.

Twitter: @JTanfani