I decided to take a cue from my colleague’s blog about campaign finances and take a look at the finance reports the candidates have filed with the N.C. State Board of Elections.
As one might expect, the Republican challengers are working with much less money than the incumbents. Jon “Greg” Bass is not required to file finance reports because he plans to keep his contributions and expenditures under $3,000. Roger Gerber is reporting his finances, but so far he’s posted only one contribution- a donation of $707 from himself.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird has reported a total of $49,926 in contributions so far this election cycle. Of that, $8,931 came from contributions from individuals under $50. She received $21,344 in contributions from individuals in amounts over $50. The majority of her major contributors reside in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area or outside District 23. $19,650 of her funds have come from other political committees. Among these, the noticeably large contributions include the following: $2,000 from Emily’s List, an organization that donates to female Democratic candidates; $4,000 from the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers PAC- Kinnaird is a lawyer; and $4,500 from the State Employee’s Association of North Carolina Employee’s PAC.
Sen. Bob Atwater has raised significantly less than Kinnaird. His total contributions so far come to $30,108. Of that, only $1,553 come from individual contributions of less than $50. $17,984 come from individuals, and Atwater has received $9,800 from other political committees. These donations from organizations include: $1,000 from the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers PAC; $500 from the N.C. Dental PAC; $500 from the N.C. Pork Council PAC; $1,000 from the Progress Energy Employees Carolinas PAC; $1,000 from the N.C. Medical Society PAC; $2,000 from Citizens for Higher Education; $500 from Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina Employee PAC; $500 from the N.C. Hospital Association PAC; and $750 from the Nationwide Carolina Political Participation Fund- a group based in Ohio which appears to be associated with Nationwide Insurance.
The reports currently available only go through the second quarter of 2008, which ended June 30. Contributions made since then have not been reported and are not included in this data.
