The N.C. Homeowners Alliance, an arm of the N.C. Association of Realtors PAC, poured at least $47,600 into supporting Durham City Council candidates Pam Karriker and Omar Beasley according to recent campaign finance reports. This amount is four times that of the dollars raised by the candidates.
The expenditures were divided evenly between the candidates and paid for mailers. Beasley, a bail bondsman, is opposing Eddie Davis for an open seat in Ward 2. Karriker, a former mortgage banker, is running against incumbent Don Moffitt in Ward 3.
Both Karriker and Beasley told the INDY earlier this month that they were unaware of the alliance’s support. Based in Greensboro, the alliance is an independent expenditure committee—also known as a Super PAC—and can spend and raise unlimited amounts of money to support or endorse candidates. However, the committees cannot coordinate with candidates’ campaigns.
The INDY, Durham Peoples Alliance and the Sierra Club endorsed Moffitt and Davis.
Friends of Durham, which leans conservative, and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People supported Karriker and Beasley.
Without the alliance’s largesse, Beasley raised just $4,186 this election cycle. Davis, a longtime Durham Public Schools teacher and former member of the state board of education, brought in $13,416.
For the Ward 3 race, Karriker collected $6,560, while Moffitt raised nearly $25,000.
