Quarter 2 numbers reflect everything that was raised and spent up until June 30. (Notably, for the purposes of campaign finance reporting, Q1 is very short, including only January and half of February; Q2 covers mid-February through the end of June.)
Data comes from finance reports publicly available through the New Hanover County Board of Elections and the North Carolina Board of Elections. WHQR reached out to verify the amounts raised and spent to date with each campaign, especially in cases where figures weren’t clear.
When it comes to individual campaign donations, the maximum amount someone can give per election is $6,800 – although donors can give that amount twice, once during the primary season, and once during the general election. Small donations of $50 or less are allowed to be made anonymously. These are listed as aggregated individual contributions. If a donation is listed as in-kind, it means it was a contribution of a good or service rather than money. Any monetary value attached to in-kind donation is an equivalent of its worth. When a total is listed for contributions from political committees, this number is a combination of all contributions from political party committees, PACs, and any other political groups. All numbers with cent totals were rounded down to whole numbers.
Broad Patterns
While Republican campaigns didn’t always bring in more money than their Democratic counterparts, many Republicans raised greater amounts. Often, that was thanks to larger donations from a wealthy base of donors giving to more than one Republican campaign. Many Republicans brought in one or more maximum $6,800 donations.
State Senator Michael Lee vastly outpaced the other candidates surveyed by WHQR in fundraising. So far, Lee has brought in $1,297,989 in his race for a seat in the state Senate (roughly half of that during 2025, another half during the first two quarters of 2026). He received $6,800 donations from about 40 individuals. His Democratic competitor, Jessica Bichler, raised $171,848.
Certain names, companies, and industries popped up again and again across individual donation reporting. The Logan family, including D Logan, Lara Logan, and D Logan Jr., has been one of the greatest funders of Republican candidates. They donated at least $60,900 across the board in Q2. D, D Jr., and Lara Logan are all executives at Logan Homes, their construction company.
The Honeycutt family, with David Honeycutt donating the most, have also been big spenders for Republican candidates. Honeycutts gave at least $20,400 in Q2. David is the president of Honeycutt Construction Services, and Sarah Butler Honeycutt is an office administrator for the same company. The Sosne family also contributed at least $20,400 to Republicans in Q2. The Sosne family’s biggest spender is Adam Sosne, a home builder for McAdams Homes LLC.
Additionally, careers in construction, development, and contracting have been common among donors across the board. Partners and executives at Cape Fear Commercial showed up especially frequently on donor lists. Cape Fear Commercial is a southeastern North Carolina real estate firm.
It’s also worth noting that candidates have largely kept their financial powder dry when it comes to campaign spending. Most expenditures have dealt with consulting, fundraising, and campaign management. Historically, some of the heaviest spending is on advertising in the months leading up to Election Day, much of which is captured by the Q3 report. That report covers July 1 through October 17, and is due at the end of October. Notably, it’s not uncommon to see a last-minute surge in spending in the week or two before the election, which is captured in the Q4 report, which covers the rest of the calendar year, but isn’t due until the second week of January next year.
Senate District 7
State Senator Michael Lee has served five terms, and is the chair for appropriations/base budget and higher education. He is also a member of the commerce and insurance, health care, judiciary, rules and operations committees. He is an attorney at Kaess, Parker, Lee, PLLC. His opponent, Democrat Jessica Bichler is a newcomer to politics; she is the owner of Wilmington Yoga.
Senate District 7 covers most of New Hanover County.
Michael Lee (R) - $1,297,989
Lee has raised $1,297,989 overall. He ended 2024, the last year he previously ran for office, with roughly $98,000 cash on hand. Over the course of 2025, he raised around $698,000, and spent $88,000. So far this year, he has raised $50,824 in Q1 and $549,371 in Q2.
Of that amount, $217,674 came from Political Action Committees (Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Carolina Dental, NC Beer and Wine Wholesalers, REAP-Rural Election Action Program). Lee spent $245,838, with some of his largest expenditures being $15,897 to his campaign treasurer Cindy Kuhne, $13,153 to Debbie Bowden, and $12,881 to Embassy Suites Hotel for food and space for a fundraiser. The money for Debbie Bowden was for unspecified services, but Bowden has been used by multiple candidates to generate financial reports or offer treasurer services.
Over 40 donors gave the maximum contribution of $6,800. That includes: Fred Eshelman (founder of Eshelman Ventures LLC, an investment company with a focus on healthcare), April Eshelman (not employed), Alix Huckabee (clinical research nurse at Wilmington Dermatology Center), Bobby Huckabee (president and CEO Southland Amusements), Janet Huth (not employed), Robert W. Huth (principal at Pelican Point Development), Todd Sutton (investor for SGS Investments), Herbert Zimmer (attorney at Zimmer & Zimmer), Jeffrey Zimmer (president of Zimmer Development Company), Landon Zimmer (attorney for Zimmer Development Company), Hank Estep (insurance agent for Griffin Estep Benefit Group), D Logan, Lara Logan, David Honeycutt, Adam Sosne, Quinn Sosne, and Lanny Wilson.
Jessica Bichler (D) - $171,848.85
Bichler raised $154,184 in Q2, and $171,848 overall. From that, $45,384 came from Political Action Committees, although that appears to include $26,393 worth of in-kind donations from the North Carolina Democratic Party to support Bichler’s campaigns. There were smaller donations from Planned Parenthood, and campaigns for Roy Cooper and Anita Earls.
Bichler’s campaign spent $57,661. Top expenses included $3,000 for Raleigh-based Maven Strategies for consulting, around $1,200 to campaign manager Payton Alexander (also an organizer with the progressive grassroots Indivisible Wilmington), and just over $2,000 to Alpha Graphics in Wilmington.
Bichler received a number of significant contributions, with the largest being $13,600 from Elizabeth Simons, who was listed as not employed in financial reporting. She got $5,000 from both Peter Francis and Erich Bichler, also not employed.
House of Representatives District 18
Deb Butler, a Democrat, is a long-time incumbent serving four terms in the NC House. Butler is also an attorney. Her opponent, newcomer Latisha Grady, on her campaign website, wrote that she has over 20 years of experience in business and operations support.
House District 18 covers New Hanover County – the downtown and midtown area.
Deb Butler (D) - $45,315
Butler raised $16,208 in Q2 and $45,315 overall. $7,000 of that total came from political committees. The campaign spent $14,676, with some of the most notable expenditures including $5,000 paid to the NC House Democratic Caucus for membership dues, $1,543 to NGP VAN Inc. for campaign office software, and $1,402 in credit card processing fees for transactions through the online payment platform Stripe. NGP VAN is a voter database and web hosting service provider that specifically serves the Democratic Party.
Most of Butler’s significant donations came from political groups. The NC Realtors PAC gave the campaign $3,000. The NC Bankers Association PAC contributed $2,500. The NC Association of Certified Public Accountants gave $1,000.
Butler also received some significant individual donations for $1,500 from Patricia Holsten and Celeste Ann Roberson Smith, both listed as not employed in financial reporting. The campaign also got a number of $1,000 contributions from individuals.
Latisha Grady (R) - $6,126
Grady raised $4,490 in Q2 and $6,126 overall. $739 of that total came from contributions by political committees. Grady has spent $3,033 so far, with some of her most notable expenses being $1,234 in aggregated expenditures for fundraiser event preparation and $1,234 paid through Upwork Inc. for website development and fundraiser event preparation. Upwork is a freelancing platform.
Brian Eckel from Cape Fear Commercial has been a top donor for Grady, giving $1,041. The campaign also received $1,041 from Brett Tanner, the owner of Pinnacle Trailer Sales, and $1,000 from Vicki Milam.
House of Representatives District 20
In 2024, New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise was re-elected to office, but now he’s vying for long-time NC House Representative Ted Davis’ seat. Scalise works for GriffinEstep Benefit Group and is a member of the UNCW Board of Trustees and the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees. Dr. Tim Merrick is a current member of the New Hanover County Board of Education and was elected in 2024. Merrick is an executive coach.
House District 20 covers the northern part of New Hanover County.
Dane Scalise (R) - $327,233
Scalise raised $91,349 in Q2 and $327,233 overall. $10,176 of his money raised came from political committee contributions. The Scalise campaign spent $49,988. Some of his most significant expenses include: $12,651 paid to Capital Communications Inc. for consulting, $7,838 paid to Anedot Inc. for fees and $7,367 paid to New Hanover Printing for campaign signs. Capital Communications Inc. is a telecommunication firm and Anedot is a fundraising software catering to campaigns and nonprofits among other things.
Scalise received a number of significant donations. Wesley Corder donated $13,600. Lanny Wilson, a self employed attorney and member of the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees, gave $13,600. Henry Estep, who works in insurance for GriffinEstep Benefit Group, gave $7,429.
Scalise scored a number of $6,800 donations across Q1 and Q2, including ones from D Logan Jr. and Lara Logan, David Honeycutt, Adam Sosne, and Brian Thomas, the CEO of Monteith Construction. From Cape Fear Commercial, partner Calvin Wells Jr. contributed $6,800 and Paul Loukas contributed $4,000. The campaign also received $5,000 from James Mahan, the CEO of Live Oak Bank.
Tim Merrick (D) - $170,189
Dr. Tim Merrick raised $170,189 this far, with $89,439 of that coming from Q2. Merrick also raised $11,601 from political committees. His campaign spent $62,349. His biggest expenditures were $15,716 to Express Lane Strategies LLC for consulting and fundraising services and $12,816 to Rachel Hatfield for salary, benefits, and print media reimbursements.
Merrick’s most significant donations include $9,900 from Kaari Snook, a veterinarian for CareVet, and $8,641 from the North Carolina Democratic Party. He also received a number of donations from individuals between $4,000 and $2,000.
New Hanover County Board of Commissioners
There are two commissioner seats up for grabs this election cycle. Incumbent LeAnn Pierce and Wilmington Planning Board Member Richard Collier are the Republicans in the running. There was no Republican primary, as Collier and Pierce were the only two candidates. Collier recently ran for a seat on Wilmington's city council in the 2025 race.
Incumbent Rob Zapple and newcomer Dr. LeShonda Wallace are the Democratic candidates. In the primary, they beat Wilmington City Council member Salette Andrews and New Hanover County Board of Education member Judy Justice. Bob Drach, a Libertarian candidate and former chair of the state Libertarian party, is running alongside the others.
LeAnn Pierce (R) - $169,676
Pierce significantly outraised other commissioner candidates, with $169,676 raised since the beginning of 2024. Of that number, $114,275 was raised in Q2, the period between February 15 and June 30. Only $500 of what she raised came from political committees instead of individual donors.
Pierce’s campaign spending has been compartively modest, around $14,120. Some of her most notable expenditures include: $4,800 to Port City Daily for advertising and $3,982 to Raise the Money for transaction fees. Raise the Money is a Little Rock-based online political fundraising platform that helps collect donations.
Pierce received a number of large donations. Pierce’s top donor is Brian Eckel, the co-founder of Cape Fear Commercial. Eckel gave a total of $11,800 to the campaign.
The campaign got a total of $24,600 from partners at Cape Fear Commercial, with $6,800 coming from co-founder Calvin “Vin” Wells, $3,000 from Paul Loukas, $1,000 from David Mann, $1,000 from F. Spruill Thompson, $750 from Willian Leonard and $250 from former city council member Charlie Rivenbark.
A number of donors gave $6,800: Wesley Corder is the president of Thomson, Corder and Company, a contracting firm. Joan Norris is the owner of Norco Management, a Wilmington property management company. Adam Sosne, from McAdams Homes, also gave $6,800.
UNCW professor Elisabeth M. Struckell, who teaches at the Cameron School of Business, gave $6,000. James Mahan, CEO of Live Oak Bank, gave $5,000. Former Wilmington City Councilmember Luke Waddell gave $1,000. D Logan Jr. gave $6,500 and David Honeycutt gave $3,900 while his son gave $500.
Rob Zapple (D) - $61,680
In Q2, Zapple raised $18,113. Over the course of the election, the campaign raised $61,680. None of that money came from political committees. The campaign spent $44,479. Most notably, Zapple spent $7,500 on campaign consulting with South Bridge Political Partners LLC and $5,000 on campaign consulting with Doc Jarden. Doc Jarden is an independent television producer. Zapple also spent $2,495 on television advertising through 40 East Advertising.
His top donor was former Endowment board member Hannah Gage, with $3,500. Zapple received $2,500 from Michael Murchison, an attorney at Murchison, Taylor & Gibson, and Bryan Thomas, the president and CEO of Monteith Construction. Jamie McCormick, who is listed as not employed in the financial report, gave $2,000.
Zapple’s son Jack, a consultant at Fusion Risk Management, gave $1,000 to his father’s campaign. Paul Loukas, a partner at Cape Fear Commercial, mentioned previously, also gave $1,000.
Editor’s Note: Zapple serves on the WHQR Board of Directors and has no role in editorial decisions.
LeShonda Wallace (D) - $33,111
In Q2, Dr. LeShonda Wallace brought in $9,204. Overall, she raised $33,111. None of that money came from political committees. She spent $26,453. Her largest expenditure of note was $1,730 to Ace Graphics for the production of yard signs.
Wallace’s donors mostly made smaller donations. However, her campaign attracted a lot of aggregated donations of $50 or less. Wallace’s biggest donations were $2,000 from Dr. Jon Martell and $1,000 from Anne York. Martell is a retired doctor working on the Five Star Project, an accountability effort to address patient ratings at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. York was listed as not employed in the finance reporting.
Richard Collier (R) - $27,659
All of Collier’s fundraising was done in Q2, in Q1 he raised nothing. He brought in $27,659 overall. $1,245 of the money Collier raised came from political committees. He spent conservatively, only using $2,493. His main expense was $2,006 paid to Debbie Bowden for treasurer services.
His top donors include: David Honeycutt, who gave $6,800, and D Logan Jr., who gave $6,800. Allen Earp, president of the Funston Company, also made a significant $2,500 donation. The Funston Company is a North Carolina-based site construction company. John Zabriskie gave $2,500 as well. Zabriskie works as a contractor for the general contractor construction company Harold K. Jordan & Co.
Bob Drach (L) - $1,652
Drach raised the least out of all the candidates. He raised $521 in Q2 and $1,652 overall. None of that came from political committees. Drach spent $826 overall, with no notably large expenses. His only individual donations were from himself to himself, for that total of $1,652.
New Hanover County Board of Education
The school board has four seats being competed for. In the Republican primary, incumbents Pat Bradford and Josie Barnhart took spots alongside newcomer Dr. Amy Dunning and Chris Sutton, who ran in 2022. In the Democratic primary, newcomers Brittnei LaRue and Wendy Dale, and Jerry Jones Jr., who ran in 2024, took spots. The fourth primary winner, Rick Southerland, stepped down after becoming involved in public controversy. Margie Gewirtzman has since taken that fourth slot.
Pat Bradford (R) - $63,236
Bradford raised $28,836 in Q2, and $63,236 overall. She raised $1,200 through political committees over the course of the election cycle. Her campaign spent $43,950. $7,823 of that went towards campaign consulting with creative agency Firelux. Bradford also made non-profit donations to Global River Church totalling $6,003.
Bradford received multiple maximum donations of $6,800. One came from Sandra Hiatt, who is listed as non-employed; others came from spouses D and Lara Logan. D Logan Jr. also donated through an in-kind contribution of $1,307.
Jerry Jones Jr. (D) - $47,091
Jones Jr. raised $26,222 in Q2, and $47,091 overall. 500 of his campaign dollars came from political committees. His campaign spent $23,928 over the course of the election. His most notable expense was $3,000 for campaign consulting from Galloway, Baker and Erquhart Inc.
Jones Jr. has had multiple big donors. Ruth and Stephen Grant have donated a combined total of $27,200 to the campaign. Both Grants are listed as not employed in financial reporting.
Jones Jr. also received $2,500 from a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder, Spencer Daugherty, and $1,100 from Anne York, who is listed as not employed.
Josie Barnhart (R) - $29,068
In Q2, Barnhart raised $15,903. Overall, she brought in $29,068. $1,700 came from political committees. Barnhart spent $9,154, with some of her most significant expenses being $2,876 on early voting texting services with NextText and $2,311 on campaign management and consulting with First in Freedom Consulting LLC.
Barnhart’s biggest donation was $13,600 from D Logan Jr. She also got $2,000 from Ronald Barnhart, a systems engineer for Lockheed Martin. Another $2,000 came from Vicki Milam, a broker at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage.
Brittnei LaRue (D) - $22,595
LaRue raised $5,624 in Q2, and 22,595 overall. She received $1,000 from political committees. The campaign spent $18,662 over the course of the election, with $3,000 sent to South Bridge Political Partners for an unspecified operating expense, $2,578 sent to RoboCent to cover texting services, and LaRue sent $1,833 to herself for candidate reimbursements. South Bridge Political Partners offers political consulting, along with other forms of consulting help. RoboCent is a texting platform primarily aimed at political candidates looking to send mass texts.
LaRue mostly received individual donations of $100 or less. Pamela Jones, who is not employed, contributed $1,000. Jeffrey Carney and Howard Stein, who are also listed as unemployed, gave $500. Ronald Sparks, an engineer for Sparks Engineering PLLC also contributed $500.
Margie Gewirtzman (D) - $20,287
Gewirtzman raised $9,624 in Q2 and $20,287 overall. She raised a small amount from political committees: $60. She spent $15,082 over the course of the election, with a large in-kind contribution of over $8,000from herself to herself for an around 10,000 postcards and mailing costs. Her largest donation was an in-kind contribution of web design services from Nicholas Riley.
Amy Dunning (R) - $15,274
Dr. Amy Dunning raised $7,591 in Q2 and $15,274 overall. She received nothing from political committees. Dunning spent $8,229, with major expenditures including $1,967 to Clamworks for video ads and $1,600 reimbursing someone named Pete Divoky for ads.
Dunning’s most significant donation comes from Lara Logan. She received $13,600 from her over two quarters.
Chris Sutton (R) - $13,131
Sutton raised $9,238 in Q2 and $13,131 overall. He didn’t receive any money from political committees. Sutton’s campaign spent $4,086, with his most notable expense being $1,860 to Twilio Inc. for texting services.
Sutton’s biggest donor has been D Logan Jr., who gave $6,800. He also received $800 from the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women’s Club.
Wendy Dale (D) - $3,917
Dale raised only $350 in Q2. Overall, she received $3,917. $1,000 of what she raised came from political committees. Dale spent $3,589, primarily on small operating expenses. Her largest donation from an individual was $200 from Gaye Spears, who is listed as not employed in the financial report.
Benjamin Schachtman contributed research and fact-checking to this article.
