NRSC Under Fire for West Virginia Ad Casting Call Looking For 'Hicky' Look

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is pulling its "Stop Obama" ad in West Virginia amid...

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is pulling its "Stop Obama" ad in West Virginia amid complaints from Democrats that it insults the state's residents. GOP Senate candidate John Raese also called the ad "ridiculous" in an attempt to distance himself from the controversy.

(ABC News)

West Virginia Senate Race Prime Target for Republicans

Republicans are pouring millions of dollars into the West Virginia Senate race between businessman Raese, and Democratic Gov. Manchin, which has quickly heated up.

The NRSC reportedly plans to contribute a total of $1.3 million into Raese's campaign.

Manchin was considered a shoo-in for the seat occupied by the late Sen. Robert Byrd. His ratings as governor are high and Democrats have held on to that seat for half a century -- Byrd was the longest serving senator in U.S. history.

While West Virginia is a conservative state, most lawmakers sent to Washington, D.C. by the state's voters have been Democrats. The state's other senator, Jay Rockefeller, has held that seat since 1985.

But Democrats face a growing anti-Obama sentiment. Obama lost West Virginia by a wide, 13 percentage point margin in the 2008 presidential election. Today, the president remains unpopular in a state where the coal and mining industries dominate and often clash with Democrats' agenda.

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With the upcoming election quickly becoming a referendum on Obama, Manchin has seen much of his own support slide.

"It was a given that Manchin would be the next senator," said political analyst and radio show host Hoppy Kercheval, who contributed to Raese's campaign and whose radio station MetroNews is owned by the GOP contender. "Those same people who were saying it's a slam dunk are calling me and saying, 'Can you believe this is happening?'"

The anti-Obama wave is so strong that even Manchin is distancing himself from the president.

On Wednesday, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for holding up mine permits and Manchin blasted Obama for "attempts to destroy our coal industry and way of life in West Virginia."

Manchin is also the first, and so far only, Democratic governor to demand a partial repeal of the health care law, even though he supported it earlier this year. He has also sought to highlight his other conservative credentials, opposing abortion and reining in spending.

ABC News' Gregory Simmons contributed to this report.