N.C. House: Democrats Lead GOP in Cash on Hand 2.4-to-1

North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation

The North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation's study of recently filed campaign finance reports shows that Democratic candidates for the North Carolina House - unlike in the State Senate - hold a decisive lead over their Republican counterparts in cash on hand as of June 30.

Disclosure reports filed with the State Board of Election covering campaign activity for the 2nd Quarter of 2010 indicate Democratic candidates for the N.C. House have a cumulative total of $3,270,866 in the bank, while GOP candidates hold $1,333,743. This gives Democrats a 2.4-to-1 funding advantage.

(To download the full, 2nd-quarter House financial report, click on the image above.)

It should come as no surprise that Speaker of the House Joe Hackney (D-Orange) possesses the healthiest campaign war chest with $597,923 on hand. Six other Democratic House members reported account balances exceeding $100,000: Reps. Arthur Williams (D-Beaufort), William Wainwright (D-Craven), Michael Wray (D-Northampton), Jim Crawford (D-Granville), Grier Martin (D-Wake), and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford).

On the Republican side, Rep. Danny McComas (R-New Hanover) reported the most cash on hand with $123,481, while Rep. Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) was the only other Republican in six figures, with $116,972.

The following is a list of the Top 10 best-funded Democratic and Republican campaigns for the N.C. House:

TOP 10 DEMOCRATS

$597,923 Joe Hackney (D-Orange)

183,020 Jim Crawford (D-Granville)

155,390 William Wainwright (D-Craven)

132,683 Grier Martin (D-Wake)

121,551 Arthur Williams (D-Beaufort)

105,850 Michael Wray (D-Northampton)

104,597 Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford)

98,673 Nelson Cole (D-Rockingham)

96,169 Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake)

92,812 Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson)

TOP 10 REPUBLICANS

$123,481 Danny McComas (R-New Hanover)

116,972 Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg)

89,439 Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph)

59,879 Julia Howard (R-Davie)

50,469 Mark Crawford (R-Buncombe)

44,364 Ruth Samuelson (R-Mecklenburg)

43,478 Mitch Gillespie (R-McDowell)

40,715 Tim Moore (R-Cleveland)

40,551 Edgar Starnes (R-Caldwell)

38,206 Tim Moffitt (R-Buncombe)

It is interesting to note that the top 10 best-funded Democrats and the top 10 best-funded Republicans hold close to half of their respective caucus' money--52% in the case of Democrats and 49% in the case of Republicans. The majority of these candidates are incumbent legislators who face no opposition in the fall or do not have a formidable challenger. It will be interesting to see how they choose to utilize their financial resources over the next few months. As competitive as 2010 is shaping up to be, neither party will have the luxury of sitting on a fat bank account come November 2.

For a review of cash on hand for State Senate candidates, see last week's report, N.C Senate: Democratic & GOP Cash in Virtual Dead Heat.

As always, thanks for reading!

Sincerely,