New fundraising numbers filed for Senate candidates battling to succeed Burr
By Dallas Woodhouse, The Woodshed for Carolina Journal
Both former Governor Pat McCrory and Congressman Ted Budd can claim some positive momentum in their campaigns for U.S. Senate after 2nd quarter fundraising totals were posted Thursday, July 15. McCrory outperformed all his primary opponents in the North Carolina race, raising $1,237,000 from April through June of this year.
The Budd for Senate campaign brought in $700,000 during the second quarter. Partially due to a million-dollar transfer from his U.S. House committee and a $250,000 loan, Budd shows $1.7 million cash-on-hand. Budd loaned his campaign $250,000 on the last day of the reporting period, June 30.
But despite Budd’s high-profile endorsement from former President Donald Trump, McCrory outraised the former congressman by more than half a million dollars in the second quarter. The new reporting shows McCrory with $955,000 cash on hand. Some of McCrory’s donors include Angus Barn CEO Van Eure, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, retired chairman and CEO of BB&T John Allison.
His campaign said he gained support from 8,000 donors between April and June, the second quarter of the 2021 fundraising year, with about 94% of contributions being $250 or less.
“We’ve proven that we are the only candidate with the record of accomplishments and the ability to marshal the resources necessary to win a statewide primary and general election against the well-funded far-left,” McCrory said in a news release. “I’m especially encouraged by the deep level of small-dollar donations we received.”
Budd had over $1 million cash on hand at the end of April, shortly after he transitioned his U.S. House committee into a committee for the U.S. Senate. That transfer accounts for his cash advantage.
“The Biden agenda is hurting our working families across North Carolina,” said Budd in a written statement. “I appreciate that, even when facing these uncertain economic times, folks are still willing to invest their hard-earned dollars to support our shared vision of America First policies that protect and promote American jobs as priority number one.”
Former Congressman Mark Walker, also in the Republican primary for Burr’s Senate seat, reported a $203,246 in the second quarter, giving his campaign $926,720 in cash on hand.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley raised nearly $1.3 million in little more than two months since she entered the race in April, her campaign announced. Beasley trails all three GOP candidates with $833,000 cash on hand. She also trails state Sen. Jeff Jackson in cash on hand. Jackson reported $864,773 cash on hand, saying his campaign raised $700,000 between April and June.
Beasley wrote on Twitter that she appreciates the contributions she got from residents in 93 of the state’s 100 counties through the end of June. Among Beasley’s contributors are former State Sen. Linda Garrou, N.C. House member Brian Turner, abortion rights group Emily’s List, and tobacco farmer and attorney Phil Carlton.
CNN currently rates the North Carolina U.S. Senate seat as the fifth most likely to change parties in 2022.
In the evenly-divided U.S. Senate, every race is critical for control. N.C. Republicans have won four straight U.S. Senate races from 2010 through 2020. Democrats last won during the Obama surge in 2008.
The state Senate race in 2022 will be one of the most expensive in the country, with total spending well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The Cook Political Report currently rates the race as a toss-up and the UVA Center for Politics Crystal Ball rates the race as "leaning right."
