Under the Dome: Candidates for governor and AG report their latest fundraising hauls
Hello and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. Avi Bajpai here, with an assist from Dawn Vaughan.
The latest campaign finance reports were posted this past week, which means we have an idea of how much money candidates raised during the last six months of 2023, and how much they had in the bank at the start of this year.
These reports, which were due to the State Board of Elections by Jan. 26, cover the reporting period that ran from July 1 to Dec. 31 of last year.
They can be found online by visiting the campaign finance section of the SBE website, which allows you to search either by the name of the candidate’s campaign committee, or by the type of campaign finance document. In this case, it’s the “Year End Semi-Annual” report.
Today, we’re looking at fundraising in the two highest-profile races that will be on the state ballot this year, both of which are expected to be exceedingly expensive: governor and attorney general.
In the governor’s race
Attorney General Josh Stein dominated fundraising in the governor’s race, raising $5.7 million in the second half of last year, and entering this year with nearly $11.5 million on hand.
His main opponent in the Democratic primary, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan, raised more than $119,000 since launching his campaign in September, and reported having just over $32,000 on hand.
The frontrunner in the Republican primary, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, raised $3.3 million and reported having $4.2 million in the bank at the start of this year.
Businessman and attorney Bill Graham of Salisbury, who got into the race in October and is self-funding most of his campaign, loaned his campaign $2.8 million, to raise a total of $2.9 million. He reported a little more than $161,000 on hand.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell raised nearly $112,000, and reported having $1.2 million in the bank. He previously loaned his campaign $1 million.
In the attorney general’s race
U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, the frontrunner in the Democratic primary, raised a total of $2 million since launching his campaign in October. He reported having $1.8 million on hand at the start of this year.
Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry raised just over $44,000 since entering the race in November, and had over $30,000 on hand.
On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who is running unopposed in the primary, raised more than $1.3 million, with more than $900,000 of that being raised in the first 10 days after he announced his campaign in August.
He reported having $1.2 million on hand at the start of the year.
That’s all for today. Check your inbox on Tuesday for more #ncpol news.
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