NC Senate races — Districts 7, 8, and 9
In the Senate District 7 race, Republican incumbent Michael Lee retained his seat over Democrat David Hill. Lee won 52% (63,217) of the vote compared with 44% for Hill (52,953). Libertarian John Evans got 4% (4,903). In District 8, Republican incumbent Bill Rabon won 60% (87,026) of the vote to Democrat Katherine Randall’s 40% (58,259). For District 9, another Republican incumbent, Brent Jackson, won 65% (68,632) of the vote, and Jamie Campbell Bowles won 35% (36,900).
Lee was the top fundraiser, with $3.3 million, followed by Hill, his opponent, with $1.4 million. In third was Jackson, who, despite running in a reliably red district against a candidate with little name recognition, raised $1 million for his campaign. Most of this money ($750,000) went to the NC Senate Majority Fund — the war chest for Republicans in the state senate.
According to a series of letters from the State Board of Elections, Jackson's opponent, Bowles, submitted several quarterly disclosure reports throughout her campaign. However, because she needed to complete the proper committee set-up paperwork identifying a campaign treasurer, her committee was not officially registered with the SBE, and her quarterly reports were not made public. Bowles has yet to respond to repeated requests for comment from WHQR.
Following the overall million-dollar campaigns, Rabon raised nearly $659,000. Like Jackson, Rabon sent most of it ($550,000) to the Senate Majority Fund, likely knowing his race wasn’t as competitive — despite the recent inclusion of a significant ‘notch’ of Democrat-leaning Wilmington into his district, which otherwise includes heavily Republican-leaning Brunswick and Columbus counties.
Randall raised a couple of thousand dollars, much lower than some local New Hanover County politicians. At a media forum, she mentioned that one of the reasons she decided to run was to draw attention to the Senate 8 gerrymander. Her fundraising committee is called "Katherine Randall to End Partisan Gerrymandering."
A look at who funded each candidate
Important note on the analysis: WHQR relied on how donors and PACs were identified in campaign finance filings. Where no employer was listed, WHQR staff researched the donor to determine their employment history. Candidate committees and non-industry PACs (e.g., the Senate Majority Fund or the North Carolina Democratic Party) were placed in the same category.
Michael Lee — $3,351,984
Lee’s most significant contributor was the NC Senate Majority Fund, which gave him $2 million of the overall $3.3 million.
Lee had ten individual donors or candidate committees who gave $12,800 (the campaign donation maximum is $6,400 for the primary election cycle and another $6,400 for the general election cycle).
Those top donors included Rodney Long, owner of Long Beverage Company; Christopher Loutit of the Loutit Law Firm; Adam Sosne, owner of MFH Construction; Quinn Sosne, Adam’s wife; former NC Senator Jim Perry’s Committee; Fred Eshelman of Eshelman Ventures LLC, the founder of PPD, now Thermo Fisher; Landon Zimmer of Zimmer Development, who is a former Cape Fear Club board member; Stephen Bright of Talbert and Bright Engineers and John Talbert of the same company.
Lee had 55 donors in the $6,400 to $6,000 range and 158 donors in the $5,500 to $1,000 range.
About 60 political action committees (PACs) gave to Lee. Some of those who gave $6,400 are the NC Beer and Wine Wholesalers, NC Realtors, NC Red, Eastern Band of Cherokees, and the NC Homebuilders Association.
Some current and former Republican politicians who gave to Lee via their campaign committees include state superintendent Catherine Truitt ($6,400), former NC House representative Jason Saine ($6,400), former NC House representative Bobby Haning ($6,400), Senator David Craven ($6,400), U.S. Congressman David Rouzer ($2,000), former Wilmington city council candidate John Lennon ($1,000), and Bill Rivenbark ($300).
Lee’s top industry donations are for construction, various services, and real estate. He had 340 donations exceeding $50.
David Hill — $1,451,296
Hill’s most significant contributor was the North Carolina Democratic Party, which gave at least $833,568.
His top donor was Elizabeth Hedden Pancoe, formerly of SDI Construction. He received nine donations of a maximum of $6,400. They were Jeffrey Keith Smith of UNC-Chapel Hill, Pamela Pietra, Mary Weber Baggett, formerly of the Blockade Runner, John Spruill, Fred Stanback, Elizabeth Simons, attorney Robert Zaytoun, and the PAC Work for Democracy.
Hill had 149 donors who contributed between $6,000 and $1,000. He only had five PACs supporting his campaign, with some of the highest contributions from Planned Parenthood ($6,000) and the NC Sierra Club ($5,000).
Former and current Democratic politicians who donated via their own campaign committees include NC Senator Graig Meyer ($1,500) and DA candidate Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson ($500).
The industries donating to Hill were health care and social assistance; retired, unemployed, or uncategorized; and various services. He had 1,085 donations exceeding $50.
Brent Jackson — $1,041,944
Jackson’s top donor was the Bladen County Republican Executive Committee, which gave $10,000. Following that donation was Rebecca Flowers of Flowers Plantation Development, who gave $7,000.
He had 22 donors who contributed $6,400. And 141 who contributed $5,500 to $1,000.
Over 70 PACs gave to Jackson's campaign. Among the top donors who gave the maximum of $6,4000 were Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association, Centene Corporation, NC Association of Nurse Anesthetists, NC Auto, NC Farm Bureau, NC Health Care Facilities, and the Rural Electric Program.
While Jackson raised $1,041,944, he spent $1,051,199, most of which went to the NC Senate Majority Fund. Jackson gave $6,400 each to the state Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler’s campaign and Dan Bishop, who ran unsuccessfully for NC attorney general. He also gave $1,000 to Senator Mark Hollo’s campaign.
The primary industries supporting him were health care and social assistance; agriculture, forest, fishing, mining; and various services.
Bill Rabon — $658,976
Rabon followed Jackson's example, raising close to $659,000 but giving a majority to other political committees, like the Senate Majority Fund. Rabon’s expenditures were $749,402.
Similar to Jackson, Rabon had significant support from PACs. He received 73 donations from them, accounting for 54% of his total contributions. Additionally, Rabon had 83 contributions ranging from $6,000 to $1,000.
PACs who gave the maximum of $6,400 were Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association, Duke Energy Corporation, McGuire Woods Federal, NC Automobile Association, NC Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, NC Homebuilders Association, NC Restaurant and Lodging, Piedmont Triad Anesthesia Federal, Providence Anesthesiology Associates, Wilmington Anesthesiologists, Catawba Indian Nation, EmergeOrtho, NC Hospital Association, NC Realtors, North Carolina Healthcare Facilities Association, REAP, and Truist.
Rabon gave to PACs as well. He gave $6,400 to the NC Homebuilders Association and $5,000 to the NC Hospital Association. He gave $3,500 to the Friends of the NRA. His campaign gave $6,400 each to Bishop and David Boleik for Auditor, who won his race.
Rabon’s top industry contributors were health care and social assistance, construction, and wholesale and retail trade.
Katherine Randall — $4,770
Randall’s top donor was the North Carolina Democratic Party, which gave $750, followed by the Brunswick County Democratic Party, which donated $500.
Randall had five donations that were $250 from individuals. No PACs gave to her campaign.
NC House races - Districts 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
District 16 Republican incumbent Carson Smith beat out Democratic challenger Frances Lakey. Smith won 62% (42,078) of the vote to Lakey’s 38% (25,491).
In District 17, Republican incumbent Frank Iler won 62% (42,078) over Democratic challenger Charles Jones’ 37.7% (25,491).
District 18 Democratic incumbent Deb Butler ran unopposed and won 83% (33,008) of the vote, with the remainder mostly going to a write-in candidate, Wallace West (5,967).
Republican incumbent Charlie Miller won 61% (41,266) of the vote in District 19 against Democratic challenger Jill Brown, who got 39% (25,882).
Republican incumbent Ted Davis received 59% (31,964) of the vote in District 20, compared to Democratic challenger Jonathan Berger's 44% (25,319).
After third-quarter reports, Miller appeared to be the highest fundraiser, with close to $237,000. Even though Berger lost to Davis, he was also one of the top fundraisers, with roughly $200,000 to Davis' $170,906. Iller was in fourth place with $50,375. Trailing him was Smith with close to $43,000. Brown raised close to $26,500. Democrats Jones ($2,569, based on second-quarter reporting) and Lakey ($1,239) raised negligible amounts.
While Butler did have a write-in candidate running against her, she did not report any fundraising for this election cycle.
A look at who funded each candidate
Charlie Miller — $236,725
Miller’s top donation was from the Eastern Band of Cherokees, which gave $12,000. Duke Energy and the NC Realtors PACs each gave $9,000, and Bobby Huckabee of Southland Amusements and Vending donated $8,900.
He had 68 donors who gave between $7,500 and $1,000. 29 PACs gave to Miller. Top donors were Truist Financial Corporation Federal, State, & Local ($7,500), EmergeOrtho PA ($7,000), and REAP ($6,000). PACs were about a fifth of Miller’s donations.
The candidate committees for Dane Scalise and LeAnn Pierce each gave $500. As did current and former Carolina Beach elected officials: Joe Benson ($500), Deb LeCompte ($250), Lynn Barbee ($100), and Kure Beach’s David Heglar ($200).
Jonathan Berger — $202,000
Berger had five donors who gave $6,400. They were Amy Marcy, Jennifer Levy of Kirkland and Ellis, LLP, Mary Weber Baggett, the former co-owner of the Blockade Runner, Nick Leibham of Holland & Knight, and Peter Friedman of O’Melveny.
37 individuals gave between $6,399 and $1,000, and he had 536 overall donations over $50.
He only received two PAC donations—one from the Progressive Turnout Project ($2,250) and the Back to One PAC ($100), a political action committee associated with IATSE Local 491, the film technicians union representing the Carolinas and parts of Georgia. This PAC, though, gave a higher amount ($300) to Davis, Berger’s opponent.
[Editor's note: Berger's campaign filings appear to report roughly $270,000 in total receipts. That included around $70,000 from the state Democratic Party and roughly the same amount (over $68,000) in donations from Berger's campaign to the state party. The state party handled some campaign advertising for Berger, which shows up as an in-kind donation. In reality, it was essentially a zero-sum exchange between the campaigns. Therefore, we didn't include it in Berger's totals.]
Berger’s top industry supporters came from those who were unemployed, retired, or uncategorized, followed by attorneys, and various services.
Ted Davis — $170,906
A quarter of Davis’s funds ($42,595) came from the North Carolina Republican Party. Five gave $6,400—those were Citizens for Destin Hall; Hall has now replaced former NC Speaker of the House Tim Moore, who left to serve in the U.S. Congress; lawyer George Rountree; lawyer and CFCC board of trustees member Lanny Wilson; Michael McCarley, the founder of Carolina Marine Terminal; and Nancy Langevin.
36 donors gave under the $6,400 mark but up to $1,000. Davis had 100 donations over $50.
17 PACs gave to Davis, including the Wilmington Anesthesiologists PAC ($3,000), the NC Automobile Dealers Association ($2,024), the NC Realtors PAC ($2,000), and Duke Energy Corporation ($1,000).
The top industries giving to Davis were non-industry PACs or candidate committees, followed by attorneys, and health care and social assistance.
Frank Iler — $50,375
Iler’s top donor was Debbie Sloane Smith of Sloane Realty, who gave $8,400. She is also the mayor of Ocean Isle Beach.
Following Smith was the NC Realtors PAC ($6,000), Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association ($5,000), and Barron Thomas Young, who works in real estate ($4,000).
Iler had 13 donations between $2,024 and $1,000. 13 PACs gave to him, ones like NC Auto Dealers Association ($2,024), NC Association of Nurse Anesthetists ($2,000), and ACEC NC ($1,000). PACs accounted for over a quarter of his funding.
Carson Smith — $42,680
Smith’s top fundraiser was Robert Willenborg of J&J Ventures and Gaming, who gave $6,400. Following Willenborg was a string of PACs: Employees Political Action Committee ($3,500), NC Association of Nurse Anesthetists ($2,000), NC Bail Agents Association ($2,000), Truist Financial Corporation ($2,000), and the Catawba Indian Nation ($2,000).
18 PACs gave to Smith, accounting for nearly 80% of his overall donations. The only other individual contribution (besides Willenborg) was from Courtney Sutton, who gave $1,500. Sutton identified herself as an entrepreneur from Wilmington. She is the general manager for the game machine supplier Sutton Gaming, Inc.
The Pender County Republican Party and the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women each gave $1,000.
Jill Brown — $26,473
Brown’s top contributor was Judith Droitcour, who gave $1,360, followed by Brunswick County Democratic Party chair Shelley Allen, who donated $1,125. Brown gave herself $986.
The NC Democratic Party gave her $750, the Brunswick County Democratic Party gave $500, and the Brunswick County Democratic Women also contributed $400.
Brown had 136 donors who gave over $50, and there were no contributions from PACs. Her opponent, Miller, had 140 donors who gave over the $50 threshold.
Charles Jones — $2,569 (Quarter Two report)
Jones only submitted his quarter 1 and 2 reports. His top donor was Linda Daniels, who gave $567. He had seven donors in total, himself included.
Frances Lakey — $1,239
Lakey did not include any donor information but filed that she had raised $1,239 as of quarter three. She did not respond to questions from WHQR.
