NC lawmakers, candidates release campaign finance reports. What you need to know
Top lawmakers and aspiring officeholders have released their fundraising numbers, showing a wide gap in the money race for governor.
It’s been a long time since the last newsletter, so I’m making all of this week’s Anderson Alerts available to all subscribers.
I’ve been working on a story I’m particularly excited about and will share more information when the time is right.
You can also ready a story I helped out the New York Times with about the motivations behind Tricia Cotham’s party switch, which gave Republicans a supermajority in April.
Now let’s dive into today’s edition…
Campaign finance reports released
Candidates for important offices in North Carolina had until Friday to release their campaign fundraising and spending reports. The reports track how much candidates took in and disbursed between Jan. 1 and June 30. Many of those reports were made publicly available Monday and Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know about key races and candidates:
GOVERNOR’S RACE:
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and attorney general Josh Stein is leading the money race by a lot. Over the six-month period ending June 30, he took in $5.98 million, more than all four Republican candidates, combined. But a few odd line items emerged, as first highlighted by a researcher and a reporter affiliated with the conservative John Locke Foundation, including a $63,000 car purchase and a fraudulent wire transfer of $50,438.77. Stein’s campaign confirmed the $63,000 line item was the purchase price of a single car. It also attributed the $50,000 loss to a vendor falling victim to a “sophisticated scam.” Of the nearly $6 million raised, 99.4% came from individual donors. Stein, who launched his gubernatorial campaign in January, entered July with $8.23 million in the bank.
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was the biggest money-getter. He took in $2.29 million, with 98% coming from individual donors. Robinson, kicked off his governor’s bid in April, entered July with $3.21 million in available cash.
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker raised nearly $554,000 over the six-month fundraising stretch, with 98.7% coming from individual donors. Walker, who kicked off his campaign in mid-May, had more than $495,000 in his campaign war chest through June.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell had the most disappointing quarter of the group. While he brought in $1.17 million, $1 million of that was a personal loan to his campaign on the final day of the fundraising period. Folwell raised little more than $161,000 from individual donors, meaning just 13.8% of his fundraising haul came from individual supporters of his campaign. Folwell entered July with $1.19 million in the bank, though he still has $1.11 million to pay off in loans.
Former state Sen. Andy Wells is also running for governor. Because he didn’t enter the race until mid-July, he didn’t take in any individual donations. He entered July with more than $63,000 in the bank, largely from loans to his campaign. Wells placed a distant second in the crowded 2020 Republican primary for the lieutenant governor’s race, losing to then-candidate Robinson. He could be expected to run a largely self-financed driven campaign.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR’S RACE:
The field is very crowded, with seven Democrats and eight Republicans vying for the seat. With many candidates announcing bids late into the January-June fundraising period or even after it, it may be too early to read too much into the numbers. But here’s who stood out: Democratic state Sen. Rachel Hunt and Republican political adviser Hal Weatherman, the top fundraisers in their respective parties.
Hunt, the daughter former Gov. Jim Hunt, took in more than $400,000, with 94.7% of the money received coming from individual donors. She entered July with more than $312,000 in available cash.
Weatherman raised more than $201,000, with 99.4% coming from individual donors. Even so, he burned through much of his cash, entering July with more than $46,000.
ATTORNEY GENERAL’S RACE:
Three candidates have entered the race: Former Republican state Rep. Tom Murry and Democratic attorneys Charles Ingram and Tim Dunn. Murry raised $103,000 and entered July with more than $120,000 at his disposal. Ingram raised more than $55,000, though $50,000 of it was through a personal loan to his campaign.
There is a possibility of a general election matchup between Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, neither of whom have declared their candidacy at this time. Bishop is seen as expected to enter the race, though forthcoming congressional maps expected to be released in October or November could impact his and Jackson’s thought process.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE RACE:
There are three declared candidates running to replace outgoing House Speaker Tim Moore in 2025 Reps. Destin Hall, John Bell and Keith Kidwell. Their speakership is dependent on Republicans retaining their majority in the chamber, which is seen as a near certainty, especially as GOP leaders go back to the drawing board this fall to enact maps likely to advantage their party. Saine said he expects a budget to pass around the third week of August, followed by a legislative break and a return in the fall with a near-exclusive focus on redistricting.
Kidwell is seen as a longshot candidate, especially as he resigned from a leadership post earlier this year after making insensitive comments about a Democratic colleague during an abortion debate. Rep. Jason Saine has yet to throw his name in the contest and told me in an interview last week there’s a 50/50 chance he runs.
From January through June, Saine raised almost $170,000 and and entered July with more than $179,000. Bell raised more than $68,000 and ended the fundraising period with nearly $168,000 at his disposal. Hall took in almost $68,000 and entered July with more than $114,000 in available cash. Kidwell raised less than $6,000 and had $3,000 in his campaign coffers, as of July 1.
WHAT WE’RE WAITING FOR:
By early Tuesday afternoon, a campaign finance report for state Rep. Tricia Cotham had yet to be released. She has refunded donations to disgruntled Democrats since she joined the Republican Party in April, but we don’t yet know how much of her contributions she’s returned or how much she took in since switching parties.