Campaign contributions: Who’s giving, who’s getting

Candidates for federal offices were required to file campaign finance reports last week with the Federal Election Commission that showed their income and expenditures from Jan. 1 to March 31. Contributors listed below made payments in the first quarter, but amounts reflect total contributions for this election cycle. Individuals may donate up to $2,400 for the primary and another $2,400 for the general election. Political action committees (PACs) may donate up to $10,000$5,000 each for the primary and general election. Some contributions include funds for primary and general election campaigns.

U.S. House, District 2

(No Democratic primary; Republican primary)

Incumbent Democrat Bob Etheridge (view campaign finance report) raised $133,000 this quarter, bringing his total campaign fundraising for this election to $702,000. He had more than $1.1 million cash on hand at the end of March.

Notable first-quarter contributors:

• John Atkins, Durham architect, O’Brien/ Atkins Associates, $2,400
• Bill Holman, director of state policy, Nicholas Institute/ Duke University, $325
• Tom B. Rabon Jr., Red Hat Inc. executive, $600
• B. Grant Yarber, Capital Bank CEO and president, $250
• Former Raleigh Mayor Smedes York, chairman of York Properties, $450

Notable PAC contributors:

• North Carolina Cotton Producers Association Committee, $7,500
• Progress Energy Employees’ Federal PAC, $7,500
• American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), $6,500
• Blue Cross & Blue Shield of NC Employee PAC, $5,000
• Realtors PAC, $5,000
• Committee for Advancement of Cotton, $5,000
• Raytheon Company (defense contractor), $5,000
• N.C. Pork Council PAC, $1,000

Three Republicans will face off in the primary. Renee Ellmers (view campaign finance report) raised most of her $46,000 campaign fund last quarter, and added $21,500 from her own purse, according to records. She is miles ahead of Todd Gailas (view campaign finance report), who has raised just $2,100, and challenger Frank Deatrich, who hasn’t raised any money. Libertarian candidate Tom Rose also has a zero balance. (View all campaign finance reports for District 2.)

U.S. House, District 4

(No Democratic primary; Republican primary)

Incumbent Democrat David Price (view campaign finance report) raised almost $50,000 this quarter, bringing his coffers to $244,000 this election cycle. More than half of that total was from political action committees.

Notable PAC contributors:

• American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), $5,000
• Realtors PAC, $4,000
• Raytheon Company (defense contractor), $4,000
• Human Rights Campaign, $1,000

Another interesting note: Price spent $21,000 for public opinion polling by Hart Research Associates in Washington, D.C.

Republican challenger William (B.J.) Lawson (view campaign finance report) has raised $55,000. Just over 40 percent of the cash coming into Lawson’s campaign this quarter came from out-of-state donors. Among the notable in-state contributors, Bonnie Hauser, president of the nonprofit organization Orange County Voice, gave $206. Other notes: Lawson spent $90 on advertising on Facebook this quarter and $3,716 on pocket-sized copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, which he often distributes to supporters at campaign events.

Fellow Republican Frank Roche (view campaign finance report) has raised $102,000, including $30,000 of his own cash. Notes from Roche’s report: He received $35 in February from the TEA Party PAC of USA and recently spent $5,000 for polling data and expenses through Public Opinion Strategies in Alexandria, Va.

U.S. House, District 13

(No Democratic primary; Republican primary)

Incumbent Democrat Brad Miller (view campaign finance report) raised roughly $151,000 in the first quarter of the year, bringing his treasure chest to more than $460,000. More than $223,000 of his funds came from political action committees.

Notable first-quarter contributors:

• Eugene A. Conti Jr., N.C. secretary of transportation, $1,250
• Frank A. Daniels Jr., former president and publisher, The News & Observer, $1,000
• Former state Rep. Stanley H. Fox, $350
• John Palmour, executive vice president, Cree, Inc., $2,000
• Jane B. Preyer, policy analyst, Environmental Defense Fund, $2,000
• Gerda Stein, social worker, N.C. Center for Death Penalty Defense, $750
• Kenan C. Wright and family, Eden developers, The Wright Company, $12,800

Notable PAC contributors:

• Drive PAC for International Brotherhood of Teamsters, $10,000
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, $10,000
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America VCAP (UAW), $6,500
• Raytheon Company (defense contractor), $6,000
• American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), $6,000
• American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO Committee, $5,000
• Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, $5,000
• InsurPac (Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America), $5,000
• National Association of Realtors, $5,000

Miller’s campaign spent $400 advertising on Facebook last quarter.

Bernie Reeves (view campaign finance report) leads in fundraising in the Republican primary with $120,000 so far in this election. Reeves has spent $44,000 on advertising just in the first three months of this year, including more than $12,000 in advertising in his own publication, Metro Magazine, and $32,000 through New York-based firm McLaughlin & Associates, a renowned Republican polling and strategy firm.

Notable first-quarter contributors:

• Anne Faircloth, hog producer, owner of Faircloth Farms and daughter of former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth, $500
• James Fulghum III, neurosurgeon and John Locke Foundation board member, $2,000
• Tom Farr, Republican redistricting expert and legal advisor to the new Wake County school board majority, $1,000
• Bob Luddy, CEO, CaptiveAire Systems Inc., charter schools founder and John Locke Foundation board member, $1,000
• Former state Rep. Chuck Neely, attorney and 2000 Republican candidate for governor, $1,000
• John Kane, CEO, Kane Properties and George W. Bush fundraiser, $1,000
• Former Raleigh Mayor Smedes York, chairman, York Properties, $500

Among other Republican challengers, Bill Randall (view campaign finance report) has taken in less than $29,000. Dan Huffman (view campaign finance report) has raised about $13,000 and Frank Hurley (view campaign finance report) hasn’t raised anything, according to the FEC. Independent challenger James Anthony Hardesty (view campaign finance report) has raised less than $5,000.

U.S. Senate

(Democratic and Republican primaries)

Republican incumbent Richard Burr has raised nearly $8 million this election cycle. As of press time, there was no electronic version available from the FEC of the 838-page report that details individual donors or total PAC contributions through March 31.

Three Republicans are challenging Burr in the primary, but none had reported raising a penny at press time. The sole Libertarian candidate for this seat has raised less than $2,500.

Eight Democrats are also running for Burr’s seat. The top three Democrats pushing toward the primary are Elaine Marshall, Cal Cunningham and Ken Lewis. At press time The FEC had processed a summary report only for candidate Ken Lewis, showing he raised $108,000 last quarter, bringing his campaign total to almost $433,000.