Deb Butler, the Democratic challenger to the Republican incumbent, Thom Goolsby, in North Carolina Senate District 9, recently received national attention for her ad featuring a transvaginal wand. (see the MSNBC segment here.) A wand like this one will be used when women seek abortions in North Carolina thanks to a bill that the NC legislature passed in July 2011. Not only has Deb Butler received national attention for this ad, she seems to have been met with approbation locally among sympathetic voters.
So far Goolsby has called Butler an "anarchist," "too liberal," and "job killer" among other names. Now Goolsby has taken this race to a very personal level. An ad appeared this past week featuring a red-haired "yogi teacher, mom, independent voter," calling Butler's ads "disgusting" and "untrue" and saying that Goolsby did not vote to require this intrusive procedure. At the end of the ad, she declares that she knows Goolsby has a strong character and is a good father because he is her husband.
The official North Carolina Legislature seems to contradict both Goolsby's and his wife's claim that he did not vote to require this procedure. It lists Goolsby's name under the "Ayes" for HB 854, "ABORTION-WOMAN'S RIGHT TO KNOW ACT. 4TH ED.," which was finally passed on Jul 28, 2011, after enough votes were secured to override the veto of the Democratic governor, Bev Perdue. (See the website here.)
Deb Butler has released an ad featuring a long-time doctor, Takey Crist, M.D., of Jacksonville, NC., charging Goolsby with lying and fearmongering, and trying to shame women.
According to the Butler campaign, Dr. Crist came forward on his own to offer help without being asked.
The NC Senate District 9 race has already been identified as one of the most competitive races in North Carolina. (See North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation's report here.) It will be interesting to see what happens on Nov. 6.
Early voting started on Oct. 28 in North Carolina, and so far, Democratic early voters outnumber Republican early voters in New Hanover County, the most populous county in the district.