A Texas home builder who helped bankroll the "Swift Boat veterans" campaign against U.S. Sen. John Kerry in 2004 is providing nearly a quarter of the Republican Governors Association money for TV ads in North Carolina targeting Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.
Bob Perry has donated $1.2 million to the Republican Governors Association since January 2007. The RGA listed those contributions among $4.8 million the group has available to use in North Carolina, according to a campaign finance report filed this week.
Anthony Holm, a spokesman for Perry, said Perry strongly supports the RGA and did not know where his money would be spent.
"This is George Bush and his special-interest friends 'swift-boating' Bev Perdue," said Perdue spokesman Tim Crowley.
The RGA has spent $471,000 on ads criticizing Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor, according to the report. The most recent commercial portrays Perdue as repeatedly pressing a "Status Quo" button similar to the "Easy" button seen in ads for Staples office supplies.
The RGA has reserved $3.5 million worth of commercial time up until the election -- a boost for Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee, who lags Perdue in fundraising.
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