Candidates for governor have raised about $9 million so far this year. The new campaign finance reports show potential frontrunners for next year’s primary.
Attorney General Josh Stein is so far the only Democrat running for governor, and he raised nearly $6 million in the first half of the year. His campaign entered July with more than $8 million in the bank.
That’s well ahead of the leading Republican, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. He raised $2.3 million and has $3 million in his campaign account.
Robinson has raised millions more than his GOP primary opponents. "Lt. Gov. Robinson has the strongest fundraising operation of any Republican governor candidate in the history of our state," Conrad Pogorzelski, his campaign consultant, said in a news release.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell reported raising nearly $1.2 million, but most of that was from a million-dollar loan he gave his campaign last month.
Former Congressman Mark Walker reported raising $554,000. And former state Sen. Andy Wells launched his campaign for governor after the reporting deadline, so it's unclear where he stands in fundraising.
Republican political consultant Charles Hellwig says the latest finance reports show Robinson’s GOP opponents could struggle to win the primary.
"I think to beat Robinson, if you can't throw 5 million bucks into it, there's no chance," said Hellwig, who is not working for any of the campaigns for governor. "Just because he does start with a name ID lead, he is certainly seen as a conservative, he is certainly popular with the base. So it's going to take real money, and none of those (campaign finance) reports have real money."
Hellwig says Wells' campaign could be competitive if he spends his personal fortunes in the race, as he did in 2020 when he came in second to Robinson in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor.
In the crowded field of candidates for lieutenant governor, Democratic state Sen. Rachel Hunt and Republican candidate Hal Weatherman lead their primary opponents in fundraising so far.
Hunt, whose father is former Gov. Jim Hunt, has raised about $400,000, while Weatherman — who served as chief of staff and campaign manager for former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest — has raised about $200,000.
Those figures are much smaller than the candidates for governor, but they're well ahead of their opponents. Hunt's former legislative colleague, former Sen. Ben Clark, D-Hoke, had raised virtually no money as of the end of June. And on the Republican side, Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes, is a distant second to Weatherman with $25,000.
Here are candidate totals for two other closely watched statewide races where the incumbent isn't running:
Attorney General
Former N.C. Rep. Tom Murry (R) — $103,050
Duplin County attorney Charles Ingram (D) — $55,200 (including $50,000 he loaned his campaign)
Tim Dunn (D) — $4,305
Commissioner of Labor
N.C. Rep. Jon Hardister (R) — $95,071
Attorney Luke Farley (R) — $59,605 (he loaned his campaign $50,000 of that total)
Charlotte City Councilman Braxton Winston (D) — $35,243
Travis Wilson (R) — no report filed as of Monday
State Treasurer
N.C. Rep. Wesley Harris (D) — $183,578
Gabe Esparza (D) – campaign launched in July, after filing period ended
N.C. Rep. John Bradford (R) — $315,000 (he loaned his campaign $250,000 of that total)
James Upchurch (R) — $3,850
