A not-so-warm Tar Heel GOP embrace for Trump

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016: A couple of leading North Carolina Republicans are struggling with how best to position themselves with their party's presidential nominee.

Posted 4:00 p.m. Aug 2, 2016 — Updated 4:00 p.m. Aug 2, 2016

Some key North Carolina Republicans -- one a mega-donor who helped engineer the GOP takeover of the General Assembly, and another who has one of the two marquee spots on the statewide ballot -- are not expressing a great deal of confidence in their party's national standard bearer.

Art Pope, one of the state's most prominent GOP contributors and activists, in Colorado attending the big Koch brothers confab, was asked about presidential nominee Donald Trump. He said he's worried:

“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since George Wallace. My concern is Donald Trump will depress the Republican vote and hurt down-ballot candidates,” Pope said.

Richard Burr is trying to hold onto his U.S. Senate seat in a race against Democrat Deborah Ross that now has become much closer than expected. Burr was very quick to set himself apart from Trump's criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Kahn, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention about their son, a decorated Army veteran who was killed in action in Iraq in 2004.

"We need to thank those who commit the ultimate sacrifice, those who put on the uniform and defend this country and our ability to have elections, but I don't think there will be anybody out there defending the statement that was made," Burr said.

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