Republicans Outraising Democrats in North Carolina Races | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: The author of this fine report is Barry Smith, who is a contributor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

GOP has 5-to-1 cash advantage, N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation finds

    RALEIGH     The tables have been turned in the political money wars. North Carolina Republicans, who traditionally lag behind their Democratic rivals in fund-raising, are leading their opponents in most races across the state, although there are some notable exceptions.

    The distinction is quite apparent in the amount of state party money in the bank and in the coffers of the two major party gubernatorial candidates.

    "The Republicans have a five-to-one cash advantage," John Rustin, executive director at the N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation, which sponsored a Thursday briefing and panel discussion on campaign finances.

    Republicans had almost $1 million on hand at the end of the second quarter while Democrats had $188,000, Rustin said.
Money on hand for the parties' gubernatorial candidates showed similar patterns, with Republican Pat McCrory having nearly $4.4 million on hand while Democrat Walter Dalton had a little more than $714,000.

    "Things have flip-flopped, not only in the state party level, but also in the legislative caucuses," Rustin said.

    Notable exceptions are in congressional districts where Democratic incumbents are running for re-election. For example, Democratic 8th District Congressman Larry Kissell has $608,585 in the bank while his GOP opponent, Richard Hudson, has $173,930.

    Democratic consultant Brad Crone, former state GOP chairman and former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer, and David McLennan, a professor at William Peace University in Raleigh, addressed campaign finances, independent expenditures and electioneering communications during the briefing.

    "My party, as a Democrat, will never gain power again until they figure out a policy platform, and are able to community the policy platform that appeals to centrist voters, that appeals to an economic dynamic that will capture a moderate to pro-business, conservative Democrats and the independents," Crone said.

    Crone said he expected McCrory and Republican Mitt Romney to win in North Carolina. "I don't see a path for victory for Walter Dalton," he said.

    Crone went on to say that the Democrats' woes could reach down to Council of State races. He said he'd seen polls showing that the only Democrat who was leading by more than the margin of error was Elaine Marshall, who is seeking re-election as secretary of state. He said even Wayne Goodwin, the Democratic insurance commissioner incumbent, is having a tough fight.

    McLennan expressed reservations about independent campaign expenditures, noting that in many races, they're outspending the candidates' campaigns.

    He said that independent groups around the country have raised about $320 million and have spent about half of that. "They've got a big pile of money they are sitting on and they're raising more money at this time," McLennan said.

   McLennan said most of those ads are negative and he questioned whether many of the ads are produced without coordination from the campaigns, as they are required to do.

    Fetzer noted that he is in the midst of operating an independent committee, one focused on the race for N.C. Supreme Court Justice between incumbent Paul Newby and challenger Sam Ervin IV. He said the N.C. Judicial Coalition "designed specifically to help the re-election of Paul Newby." He called the Supreme Court justice race the most important this year.