How a budget fight in Raleigh could hurt Republican chances of taking back the U.S. Senate

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North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and state Senate President Phil Berger (R) are members of the same party, but they don’t see eye to eye. Since McCrory took office in 2013, the two have been at each other’s throats constantly, on issues ranging from taxes to election reform to immigration. Now, disagreements between two of the most powerful men in Raleigh over teacher pay and whether to accept federal Medicaid money have kept the legislature in session weeks past their planned adjournment date, while McCrory and Berger take shots at each other in the media.

The budget impasse could resonate far beyond Raleigh: Stuck in the middle, between feuding leaders of his own party, is state House Speaker Thom Tillis (R).

Tillis faces Sen. Kay Hagan (D) in one of the most contentious, most closely-watched Senate contests of the year. Hagan is among four Democrats who represent states Mitt Romney carried in 2012, Democrats the GOP must beat if it is going to retake control of the U.S. Senate.

And while Congress is unpopular, so is North Carolina’s General Assembly. The Hagan campaign, and Democratic outside groups that have poured millions of dollars into attack ads, have made a concerted effort to associate Tillis with his unpopular colleagues in Raleigh.

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More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/22/how-a-budget-fight-in-raleigh-could-hurt-republican-chances-of-taking-back-the-u-s-senate/?hpid=z5