Dole gets plaudits and scorn in ads by outside groups

Two outside groups are hitting the North Carolina airwaves with ads about U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's record on energy: one attacking and one praising.

Majority Action, a liberal group, is spending $115,000 on a TV ad noting contributions Dole has received from oil companies and criticizing her votes on energy bills.

At the same time, Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit that promotes limited government, is spending $150,000 on a statewide radio ad praising Dole's efforts to allow offshore drilling as a way to reduce gas prices.

Neither ad directly mentions Dole's current re-election bid, using a loophole in federal campaign finance law that allows third-party groups to run issue ads that mention candidates by name.

Both are part of a wave of outside spending in the Senate race.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a national group, intends to spend as much as $7 million on the race.

The Majority Action ad notes that Dole has received $266,456 in campaign contributions from oil companies since she was elected in 2002. It also criticizes her for voting for the 2005 energy bill, which included some tax breaks for oil companies.

Meantime, Americans for Prosperity praises Dole for co-sponsoring a bill this session that aims to reduce gas prices by lifting a congressional moratorium on offshore drilling and encouraging oil shale drilling in three Western states.