Don’t discount the role that personal animosity between Cawthorn and Tillis played in the race. A Super PAC tied to Tillis dropped $1 million in TV ads on Cawthorn in the final month of the race, according to data from Kantar/CMAG. Plus, Edwards and another GOP candidate, Matthew Burril, each outspent Cawthorn on TV too. So voters were inundated with lots of anti-Cawthorn messaging in closing weeks.
