Congressman says ad is an ‘example of broken politics.’ It’s from a group helping him.

An outside group linked to Republican House leadership is spending $1.4 million to boost Rep. George Holding’s re-election bid in North Carolina.

But Holding is dismissing one of the group’s attack ads, which hits Holding’s Democratic challenger Linda Coleman for paying her taxes late.

“It’s an example of an outside group spending money and not knowing what is going on in North Carolina,” Holding said. He said the ad is “a good example of broken politics.”

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC, released the ad on Oct. 8. It says Coleman “didn’t pay her taxes on time — time and time again, missing the due date over 60 times” and cites the Wake County Revenue Department website.

Wake County and all North Carolina counties list the due date for property taxes as Sept. 1, but the payments are not considered delinquent until early January, according to state law. Both Coleman and Holding made payments after Sept. 1 but by January on several different properties — payments that could be considered as “missing the due date,” according to Wake County records.

“Everyone waits until the last minute. Why should you give the government money before you have to?” Holding said, noting he does not consider payments late until interest and fees are assessed.

“Nobody pays their taxes on Sept. 1,” Coleman said. “He’s grasping at anything. He has no issues that are resonating with the voters of the district. He’s trying to paint me as someone that doesn’t pay my taxes. People know that’s not true.”

Holding is not behind the ad. Campaigns and super PACs are not allowed to coordinate.

“I’m not going to call them and tell them what not to run,” said Holding, a former U.S. attorney.

A search of Wake County tax records dating back to 1994 found that Coleman had paid property taxes on homes or cars after the date that interest began on eight occasions. A search of the same tax records dating back to 1995 found that Holding had paid property taxes on homes or cares after the date that interest began on eight occasions.

Holding is seeking his fourth term in the U.S. House. Coleman, a former Wake County commissioner and state lawmaker, was in a statistical tie with Holding according to several campaign and external polls released in August and September. Libertarian Party candidate Jeff Matemu is also on the ballot in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes parts or all of Wake, Franklin, Harnett, Johnston, Nash and Wilson counties.

Holding was the target of outside spending early in the campaign when a liberal group, North Carolinians for a Fair Economy, launched ads hitting the incumbent on health care. The group spent more than $280,000 on television and radio ads against Holding. Holding said those ads were unfair.

“It’s just as silly for an outside group to say I’m against giving people with pre-existing conditions a pathway to keep that coverage as it is to say that if you don’t pay your taxes on Sept. 1, then they’re late,” Holding said.

The House-passed American Health Care Act, which Holding supported as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, didn’t eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions, though it did include measures that could have weakened that coverage.

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Congressman says ad is an ‘example of broken politics.’ It’s from a group helping him.."