#NCSEN: Speaker Thom & Lobbyist LOVE

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Some time back, we wrote about the high levels of affection Thom Tillis’ legislative staff was showing some Jones Street lobbyists.  Now, it appears some lobbyists are showing Speaker Thom a little bit different kind of love.

Word broke yesterday that a gaggle of Raleigh lobbyists was hosting a fundraiser for the Speaker’s US Senate run.  Now, word comes from our nation’s capital of another feeding from the special-interest trough:

 Washington, D.C., fundraiser scheduled for this week for North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican candidate for Senate, will feature a few big GOP names, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., are also slated to attend, according to an updated invitation sent out Monday and obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Thursday’s breakfast event will be at the home of Geoffrey Gray, a lobbyist who has represented Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, among additional interests in banking, financial and other sectors. The event is $500 to $1,000 per head and up to $2,500 for political action committees.

McConnell’s political action committee has donated to Tillis’ campaign, but the appearance at the fundraiser of the Senate’s top Republican is an important, visible stamp of approval for Tillis’ candidacy. McConnell’s colleague, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., endorsed another Republican in the North Carolina Senate primary, physician Greg Brannon. Still, Tillis, the favored candidate of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, holds a considerable fundraising advantage. […]