If you haven’t seen that cornpone banjo-plucking ad for state Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby, you probably will if you own a TV.

Stuart Watson, an investigative reporter at WNCN-TV in Charlotte, updates The N&O’s Thursday report of new ad buys by the N.C. Judicial Coalition. The super PAC supporting Newby has now spent more than $800,000, Watson reports, which buys more than 900 spots for the banjo ad.

But Newby isn’t the only one benefiting from an outside group. An independent expenditure group called N.C. Citizens for Protecting Our Schools is paying for a mailer supporting appellate Judge Sam “Jimmy” Ervin IV. The mailer says Ervin “shares progressive North Carolina values,” and notes that the Supreme Court considers such issues as voting rights, racial justice, women’s health and public education.

Some of the money for the mailer comes from the National Education Association.

The most recent reports don’t yet show how much Protecting Our Schools is spending on various campaigns. But that organization and state and national teacher advocacy groups have all contributed money to an umbrella liberal independent expenditure group called Common Sense Matters, which is supporting mailers in a number of legislative races.

Protecting Our Schools deposited $75,000 with Common Sense in the first half of this year. The N.C. Association of Educators gave $100,000 in mid-September. And the NEA Advocacy Fund gave $20,000 in May.

The banjo ad portrays Newby as tough on crime. Actually, just a small portion of his 20-year career at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh was spent on criminal prosecutions; mostly, he did civil work.

Forest takes on SEANC

Dan Forest, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, launched a radio ad this week that takes on the state employees association, though not by name.

Forest’s opponent, Democrat Linda Coleman, is backed by the State Employees Association of North Carolina, which is running a television ad on her behalf.

“We don’t need the unions coming into North Carolina and killing our ability to create new jobs,” Forest says.

Forest, a former partner in an architecture firm, says it would be better to have someone with a business background than a former bureaucrat holding the gavel in the Senate.

Coleman is a former state agency human resources manager and state personnel director.

Obama ads skip North Carolina

North Carolina is not included in the newest round of TV ads being aired by the re-election campaign of Barack Obama.

One new ad is running in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Virginia. A second ad is running in those states as well as New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

Campaign notebook

The Obama campaign has scored Grammy award winner Alicia Keys for a get-out-the-vote rally at 5 p.m. today at Chavis Park. … N.J. Gov. Chris Christie will chow down on N.C. ’cue today at a rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory. … U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-Winston-Salem, and a host of other GOP candidates including state Sen. David Rouzer and state Rep. Leo Daughtry also are slated to attend the event at the Central Marketing Tobacco Warehouse, 1416 Wal-Pat Road . Doors open at 5:30. … Second lady Jill Biden will stump Sunday in Huntersville and Asheville.

Staff writers Craig Jarvis, Lynn Bonner and Rob Christensen

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