New Hanover County Board of Commissioners race
This year’s race for county commissioner was very close, and results tightened further after New Hanover County’s election canvass on November 15. Republican incumbent Bill Rivenbark had the most votes, with 62,802. Democrat Stephanie Walker placed second with 61,469, followed by Republican incumbent Dane Scalise with 61,423 votes.
Longtime Democratic incumbent Jonathan Barfield, Jr. placed fourth, 244 votes behind Scalise; Barfield filed a recount, which will be held on Wednesday, but it’s not likely to shift the election result. Two challengers trailed Barfield, Republican John Hinnant, and Democrat Cassidy Santaguida.
Scalise raised considerably more than other candidates, bringing in $276,026, three times the second-highest fundraiser, Republican John Hinnant, who received $90,053. Rivenbark followed behind Scalise and Hinnant, raising $71,518.
Democratic candidates raised less overall. Santaguida raised $65,137, and Barfield raised $59,240. Walker, who sits on the New Hanover County School Board, raised only $19,936—the lowest amount of commission candidates.
A look at who funded each candidate
Important note: WHQR's analysis of which industries supported each candidate was based on the contributions from donors or PACs associated with those industries (as categorized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The analysis did not include donors who were unemployed, retired, or whose line of work was not identified; PACs that weren't associated with specific industries were also not included (for example the state GOP or Democratic PACs).
Scalise - $276,026
Scalise’s funders were some of the Republican establishment and power brokers in New Hanover County. His top two donors were Christopher Loutit of Loutit Law ($12,800) and Adam Sosne of McAdams Homes and MFH Construction, LLC ($9,600). Behind those donors, five gave $6,400: Brian Eckel and Calvin Wells are partners at Cape Fear Commerical, David Honeycutt of Honeycutt Construction Services, William Purvis of Liberty Senior Living, and developer James Yopp.
Adam's father, Marc Sosne, sits with Scalise on the Cape Fear Community College board. Adam Sosne also donated to some Democratic candidates during this election cycle, too, like Barfield ($5,000) and Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson ($6,400) for district attorney.
Loutit, meanwhile, donated exclusively to Republican candidates. He gave to Senator Michael Lee’s campaign and State Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin, who is in a tight race with Democrat Allison Riggs. Loutit was the former Chief Deputy Commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, where Scalise also served as a deputy commissioner.
Scalise had 69 donors who gave $1,000 or more. Some of those are from the Cameron family—Caroline, and Bruce, whose father, Bill, is the current board chair of the New Hanover Community Endowment. Some of these other donors were Board of Elections member Bruce Kemp, city councilor Luke Waddell, Hank and Lisa Estep, (Scalise works for Estep’s firm), and former New Hanover County commissioner and lawyer Woody White, an influential conservative. White also sits on the Endowment board and the North Carolina University System Board of Governors.
According to IRS filings from 2022, Scalise was also a board member of the Cape Fear Club, a private men’s club in downtown Wilmington. His fellow board members, Bruce Cameron, Franklin Rouse (whose wife, Mary Lyons, serves on the Endowment board and was on the CFCC board), Louis Burney (president of the Cape Fear Club and a new member of the CFCC board), and Steve Wells of Wells Insurance also gave.
Several PACs gave to Scalise, including the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women’s Club ($2,250) and the NC Homebuilders Association ($2,000). The New Hanover County Republican Women’s Club ($500) and the Committee to Elect John Lennon ($200), a Republican who ran for city council in 2023, also gave.
The breakdown of his receipts shows that a quarter of those that could be classified came from real estate, closely followed by construction (23%), attorneys (18%), and management (17%).
Hinnant - $90,053
Hinnant’s top donors were from the NC Realtors PAC ($6,000) and the New Hanover County GOP ($5,000), followed by Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage CEO Timothy Lee Milam ($3,000), who also donated $5,500 to Scalise.
Edward Clark, President of Bill Clark Homes, and Frank and Ramsay Gorham were the other top donors to Hinnant. They each donated $2,500; Clark also gave $3,000 to Scalise.
The top donations from associations were the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women (LCFRW), which gave $2,500 and the NC Home Builders Association (NCHBA), which gave $2,000. Scalise was given a slightly lower amount from the LCFRW and a similar amount from the NCHBA. The Committee to Elect John Lennon gave $200.
Hinnant had 25 donors who gave $1,000 and over.
Republican school board members Pat Bradford and Josie Barnhart also donated smaller amounts to Hinnant.
Compared to Scalise, Hinnant’s real estate industry contributors were a higher percentage of the donations that could be classified by industry, with real estate at 27%. Construction (24%) followed, wholesale and retail trades (13%), and others were associated with various services, like optometry, business development, and hotels (10%).
Rivenbark - $71,518
Many of Rivenbark’s donors also showed up on Scalise’s and Hinnant’s reports, but his top donors were mainly from Cape Fear Commercial (CFC), where his brother, city councilman Charlie Rivenbark, is a senior vice president. Rivenbark’s brother donated $2,000, and CFC co-founder Brian Eckel ($6,000) was a top donor, along with Mike Brown ($3,000) and Spruill Thompson ($1,000). Eckel gave $6,400 to Scalise and $500 to Hinnant. Brown and Spruill each gave the same amount to Scalise.
Sea Coast Advantage’s Milam gave $6,000 — and the NC Realtors PAC also backed Rivenbark at $6,000. Tina Yopp gave $5,000.
Rivenbark had 21 donors who gave over $1,000.
Other organizations who gave are the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women ($2,250), NC Homebuilders Association ($2,000), and John Lennon’s Committee ($250).
Rivenbark’s donations were not as diverse as Scalise’s and Hinnant’s. Close to half of those that could be categorized came from the real estate industry, followed by 35% from construction.
Santaguida - $65,137
Santaguida was the top Democratic fundraiser, and her main contributors were Dorothy Weiss of Vantaca ($4,791), Katheleen Jones ($4,750), and Jessica Cannon of Wilmington Health ($4,125). Beth Crookham, a film producer, also gave $4,000.
Santaguida had backing from other current and former Democratic politicians, such as Marcia Morgan ($2,450), Representative Deb Butler ($1,000), Commissioner Rob Zapple ($800), City Councilor Salette Andrews ($300), and Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson ($150).
Santaguida and her family members also made smaller donations: she donated $755 to her campaign, followed by Janice Santaguida ($600) and Byrson Santaguida ($300).
She received $1,050 from the NC Democratic Party and $100 from the Back to One PAC, a political action committee associated with IATSE Local 491, the film technicians union representing the Carolinas and parts of Georgia.
She had 11 donors who gave $1,000 and over.
Over half (56%) of Santaguida’s support that could be categorized by industry came from various services like the arts, consulting, architecture, and education, followed by 11% for finance and insurance. Real estate giving was much smaller at 4%.
Barfield - $59,240
Barfield’s largest contributor was Raiford Trask of the Trask Land Company, who contributed $6,200, followed by the NC Realtors PAC, which contributed $6,000. Sosne, one of the biggest donors to Scalise, also gave Barfield $5,000. Several other donors who backed Republican candidates also supported Barfield, including Sea Coast CEO Milam who gave Barfield $2,500 and CFC co-founder Eckel, who donated $2,000. The NC Builders Association also gave $2,000.
Barfield serves on the CFCC Board of Trustees with Lanny Wilson, who gave him $1,000. Wilson also gave $2,750 to Scalise and $1,000 to Hinnant.
Only two former and current Democratic politicians gave to Barfield: Zapple ($500) and former school board member Nelson Beaulieu’s campaign ($300).
Barfield had 23 donors who gave $1,000 and over.
His breakdown by industry contribution shows real estate as the most prominent backer at 40% of the total donations that could be classified, followed by 27% of construction and 14% of management.
Walker - $19,636
Walker’s biggest supporter is her husband, Laurie Walker, who donated $2,050. Her daughter donated $500. Following Laurie are the NC Democratic Party, which gave $1,050, and Crookham, who gave $1,000.
Walker only had three donors who gave $1,000 or more.
Morgan ($250), Andrews ($250), Zapple ($200), school board member Hugh McManus ($150), and school board member-elect Tim Merrick ($100) were the former and current Democratic politicians who supported her campaign.
Another group that donated to Walker was Back to One, which gave $200.
For those donations where industry could be categorized, Walker had backing from various services like consulting, medicine, landscaping, and education (42%), followed by construction (18%), and attorneys (14%).
New Hanover County Board of Education race
The race for three seats on New Hanover County’s school board was also close, but overall, fundraising totals were lower than those for the board of commissioners race. Unlike the commissioners' race, the school board race didn't have any incumbents, although Democrat Judy Justice had previously served on the school board from 2018 to 2022.
As of Friday, November 15, the canvass, Justice won the top seat with 63,848 votes, followed by Democrat Tim Merrick with 62,020. Republican David Perry came in third with 60,918 votes.
Democrat Jerry Jones, Jr. took fourth place, trailing Perry by 302 votes. Like Barfield, Jones has filed for a recount but is similarly unlikely to pick up the necessary votes. Trailing Jones were Republicans Nikki Bascome and Natosha Tew, who were in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Merrick was the top fundraiser with $45,613, followed by Bascome with $30,079, Tew with $24,900, and Perry with $20,112. Justice raised only $7,191. According to campaign finance records, Jones only filed his first quarter fundraising report, which showed only $1,695 in funds. WHQR reached out to Jones regarding his fundraising reports but has not heard back.
A look at who funded each candidate
Tim Merrick - $45,613
Merrick was his own top donor, giving $2,000, followed by Mary Vogelsong ($1,050) and James Kelly of LeeRink Partners ($1,000). He had six donors giving $1,000 or more.
Former and current Democratic politicians who contributed to his campaign were school board-elect Justice ($537), Marcia Morgan ($250), Veronica McLaurin-Brown ($200), DA-candidate Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson ($160), House candidate Jonathan Berger ($118), and city councilor Salette Andrews ($100).
For those donations where industry could be classified, the largest sum of donations came from workers in various service industries, such as medical services, education, and marketing and consulting, supported Merrick (37%), followed by real estate (13%) and attorneys (11%).
Nikki Bascome - $30,079
Bascome received the most money from the New Hanover County Republican Party ($5,000). That was followed by Hank Estep of Griffin Estep ($2,500) and the Committee to Elect Michael Lee ($2,000).
Bascome’s husband, who works for GE, gave $1,200, followed by Adam Sosne of McAdams Homes ($1,000). She had seven donors who were at $1,000 and over.
The Lower Cape Fear Republican Women donated $905.
Bascome received significant support from local Republican politicians. Bill Rivenbark for Commission contributed $500, followed by the Committees to Elect Leann Pierce (County Commission), Dane Scalise (County Commission), and Luke Waddell (City Councilor) who all gave $250 each. City Councilman Charlie Rivenbark also gave $100. Former commission candidate Tom Toby donated $312. Former New Hanover Commissioner and Endowment board member Woody White gave $250.
Of those donations which could be classified, about 30% of Bascome’s donations were from various services like fitness, recreation, and marketing, followed by attorneys (17%).
Natosha Tew - $24,900
While Tew submitted her quarter one, two, and three reports, she only submitted detailed donor information for quarter one. Her main donors then were Zane Newitt, CEO of a data analytics firm, Richard Vonlange of Mid-Atlantic Acoustics, Edward Mansour, and Faye Britt, all of whom gave $500. State Farm Insurance agent Diane Zaryki gave $400—she was also Tew’s treasurer.
David Perry - $20,112
Perry was his own biggest donor at $6,750, followed by the New Hanover County Republican Party ($3,500) and Orschelin Farm and Home employee Deborah Brown ($1,000). He had three donors at or over the $1,000 mark.
Groups donating to Perry were the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women ($905), followed by the New Hanover County Republican Women’s Club ($500).
The school board’s current lawyer, Norwood Blanchard’s former campaign for Superior Court Judge, made a $45 in-kind donation to Perry.
Of those donations which could be categorized, most of Perry’s funds (80%) came from various services, such as medical services, consulting, and private investigation.
Judy Justice - $7,191
Justice’s most significant donor was her fellow Democrat-elect on the school board, Tim Merrick’s Committee ($805). He was followed by Greta Harrelson of CP Brunswick, who gave $500.
The vast majority of Justice’s donations were below the $300 mark. In total, she had 39 individual donors, and many did not share their employers. Of those that did, 46% were from various services like medicine and education.
Jerry Jones (Quarter One Only) - $1,695
Jones did not file his quarter two and three reports with the county or the state.
In quarter one, he had ten $100 donations.
Correction: This original article only had Bascome's total quarter-three funding listed. This article has been edited for clarity and transparency.
WHQR's Kelly Kenoyer contributed to data analysis for this report.
