WaPo:

Democrat Erica Smith, a two-term North Carolina state senator, was so inspired by women who beat the odds and won seats in Congress in 2018 that she decided to run in this year’s U.S. Senate race.

The party establishment chose another candidate.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee endorsed Cal Cunningham, a former state lawmaker and an Army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who had run unsuccessfully for the Senate a decade ago. Smith was disappointed but didn’t bow out, despite struggling to raise money and snare endorsements.

Then, a few weeks ago, Smith got an unexpected and unwelcome benefactor: a Republican-affiliated political action committee that started running ads touting Smith as the “true progressive,” while suggesting Cunningham does not support addressing climate change and LGBTQ rights.