Mixed bag for political coffers

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Republicans hold a large financial advantage in state and federal races, according to reported campaign finance data, but local races show state-level Democratic candidates with a slight edge in the latest filings.

David Blust, Watauga County commissioner and a candidate for the N.C. Senate, reported spending $27,630 in the second quarter, according to his finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections. For the election cycle beginning last year, Blust spent $58,000 through June 30, with $2,600 reported as “cash on hand” at the time the report was filed.

Blust, a Republican, defeated five-term incumbent John Garwood in the Republican primary in the spring, spending most of his donations on that campaign.

Most of Blust’s money came from individual donations, including $10,100 from his own pocket as a loan. Blust received $2,500 donations each from U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, and her husband, Thomas Foxx.

Blust spent $7,000 on advertising with his own company, Blust Properties, Inc.

Steve Goss, Democratic candidate for the same state Senate seat, spent $6,760 and has raised $12,635 in the current election cycle.

Goss had $7,400 in his campaign coffers at the end of the last filing period on June 30.

Goss’s largest expenditures included a reimbursement to himself for travel and computer supplies for a total of $3,300.

In the race for the 93rd-District N.C. House of Representatives seat covering Watauga and Ashe counties, Republican incumbent Gene Wilson of Boone reported $18,540 on hand through June 30 and reported spending nearly $6,000 in the second quarter.

Among his donors were BB&T, Nationwide, Coca-Cola, Wachovia, Sprint-Nextel Corporation and the N.C. Home Builders Association.

Democratic House challenger Cullie Tarleton reported $30,605 on hand on June 30.

Tarleton spent $1,300 in the second quarter. Tarleton hasn’t received any donations from the Democratic Party or political action committees at the time of the filing.

His donors include former N.C. Gov. James B. Hunt, Watauga Clerk of Court Glenn Hodges and Watauga County Commissioner Jim Deal. Tarleton contributed $1,400 to his own campaign.

On the federal level, Foxx has surpassed the million-dollar mark in her bid for a second term. According to the latest Federal Elections Commission data on June. 30, Foxx had raised $1,015,988 in the current election cycle and had $740,000 still in the bank.

Her Democratic opponent for the Fifth District seat, Roger Sharpe of Harmony, had raised $24,405 and still had $11,000 on hand at the beginning of July.

Statewide, Republicans raise about $7 for every $3 raised by Democrats. North Carolina ranks 21 among the 50 states in campaign dollars raised. Over the last two years, $4.7 million has been contributed to federal candidates in North Carolina, followed in order by contributions coming from Tennessee, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Florida and California.