NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Third-quarter campaign finance reports show local candidates in contests for the state Senate, county commission, and district attorney’s office raised millions of dollars in the months leading up to the November election.
READ MORE: Sen. Lee, Commissioner Scalise lead fundraising efforts in NHC races ahead of November election
ALSO: Democratic DA candidate in New Hanover County has raised 10 times as much as competitor
However, raising the most funds doesn’t always equate to a win; several candidates won their seats despite being vastly outraised by their competitors.
Below are campaign finance reports covering campaign donations and expenditures from July 1 to Oct. 19. The fourth quarter reports will be released in January.
General Assembly
In early July, North Carolina GOP announced plans to spend over $2 million to help secure Sen. Michael Lee’s position for the highly competitive district 7 Senate seat.
The investment paid off, as Lee won against Democratic challenger David Hill and Libertarian candidate John Evans, with 52.2% of the vote. Lee’s second-quarter disclosure showed $801,127 in total donations; his third quarter report brought up the figure to $3.35 million. The incumbent reported total expenditures of $3.23 million, the majority spent between July and October.
Notable third-quarter contributions include $6,400 from Carroll Companies founder Roy Carroll; $6,400 from Variety Wholesalers owner and influential conservative donor James Art Pope; $6,400 each from Cape Fear Commercial co-founders Brian Eckel and Vin Wells; and $6,400 from NC Realtors PAC.
The senator’s largest expenditure was $2.32 million in media buys with Louisiana-based advertising and marketing firm People Who Think LLC. The North Carolina Senate Majority Fund reported $2.16 million in total third-quarter in-kind contributions — anything of value given to a campaign reported at the fair market value of the contribution — including research and polling, direct mail, and door hangers.
Lee’s campaign spent $20,000 on political consulting with Starboard Strategies LLC, a firm run by Lee’s former campaign manager Chase Horton. Horton now works as a government affairs specialist with Maynard Nexsen. His clients include Pender County, the Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission, and Rush Street Gaming. Horton also lobbied for Novant Health until November 2023.
Lee’s campaign paid $13,620 to treasurer Cindy Kuhne and $5,500 to office operations director Debbie Bowden. Both are employed at the incumbent’s law firm, Lee Kaess.
Lee’s challenger David Hill raised a total of $1,451,296 for the election — over a million of the funds came in the third quarter — and spent $1,420,673 up to the third quarter.
The campaign paid $734,649 on media buys with Washington, DC-based Sage Media Planning and Placement, $100,000 for digital advertising with Chicago-based Riveter Digital, and $49,928 for video production with Baltimore-based McKenna Media.
The North Carolina Democratic Party spent a total of $818,526 for Hill’s campaign, including mail, polling, and staff salaries. Other notable campaign expenditures include $4,800 in rent payments to Jerry Cook of Causeway Drive.
Notable donors include $5,900 from former Blockade Runner Beach Resort owner and NC League of Conservation voters board member Mary Webber Baggert; $5,000 from former SDI Construction president Elizabeth Pancoe, $5,000 from NC Sierra Club PAC; and $3,000 from Planned Parenthood PAC.
Rep. Ted Davis held on to his district 20 House seat with a total of $170,906 in donations up to the third quarter, significantly less than the $276,849 raised by his Democratic challenger Jon Berger.
Rep. Deb Butler raised $32,805 up to the third quarter. She did not face a formal challenger, but write-in candidate Wallace West brought in a total of $26,650 for the election.
District Attorney
The contest for long-time district attorney Ben David’s vacant seat was the second most expensive race in the 2024 election. David served for two decades before announcing his retirement last year. He ran unopposed for five consecutive five-year terms after beating NHC public defender Jennifer Harjo in the 2004 election.
Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Democrat Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson to fill David’s position in September, but her Republican challenger and coworker, Jason Smith, won the 2024 election, despite raising less than a fifth of the incumbent’s total of $648,327.
Smith raised $120,637 and spent $55,799 up to the third quarter; Donaldson outspent him by nearly a factor of 10 with $530,771 in total expenditures.
Smith’s notable third-quarter donors include $6,400 from Logan Homes owner D Logan, $2,768 from Ward & Smith attorney Alex Dale, $1,500 from attorney Woody White, $1,000 from attorney Jim Lea, $1,000 from attorney Buddy Allard, and $700 from assistant district attorney Doug Carriker.
Smith’s campaign paid New Hanover Printing $14,626 for campaign signs and print material, $11,459 for billboard advertisements with Tedder Media, $3,195 to Wrightsville Beach-based Clam Works Co. for video production, and $2,000 to campaign manager Peter Divoky.
Donaldson lent her campaign a $248,000 loan in November. Other notable third quarter contributions include $67,0172 from the NC Democratic Party, $6,400 from Ronna Zimmer, $2,500 from CPA Joseph Stilwell Jr, and $1,035 from attorney Gary Shipman.
Donaldson’s expenditures include $194,436 in media buys with Maryland-based Buying Time, LLC,$15,025 for campaign consulting, research, and email services with Raleigh-based Maven Strategies, and $8,400 for polling services with California-based Change Research.
Commissioners
Incumbent commissioner Bill Rivenbark retained his seat as the highest vote-getter among six candidates in 2024. He brought in the third highest total of campaign donations at $71,518. Notable third-quarter donations include $6,000 from NC Realtors PAC, $4,000 from Cape Fear Commercial co-founder Brian Eckel, $3,000 from Milam, $2,500 from Cape Fear Public Utility Authority board member Wesley Corder, and $2,000 from the NC Home Builders PAC.
Rivenbark’s expenditures include $6,217 on campaign signs with Alpha Graphics Wilmington and $3,360 on billboards with Tedder Management. The commissioner’s campaign donated $1,500 to the Pleasure Island Disaster Relief Fund and $1,000 to Samaritan’s Purse.
Stephanie Walker received the second-highest amount of votes despite raising the least among the six candidates at $19,369. Most of Walker’s third-quarter contributions came from small donors of $100 or less. Her largest expenditure was $6,696 for billboard advertisements with Lamar Advertising.
Dane Scalise took in the third-highest vote count and raised the highest sum at $276,026 — roughly $93,000 of which came in the third quarter — almost doubling the highest campaign haul in recent commissioner elections; vice chair LeAnn Pierce raised $145,782 in the 2022 contest.
Scalise’s notable third-quarter donors include $6,400 from Raleigh-based attorney Christopher Loutit, $5,000 from developer James Yopp, $3,200 from McAdams Homes owner Adam Sosne, $3,000 from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage CEO Tim Milam, and $2,000 from the NC Home Builders Association.
Scalisa’s total campaign expenditures added up to $237,288 up to the third quarter. They include $107,309 on commercial buys with Firelux LLC, $36,025 to Reylus for postcard mailers, $9,000 to Scalise’s campaign manager Caleb Rash, and $5,390 on billboards with Lamar.
Jonathan Barfield Jr. raised $59,240 and received the fourth highest vote count. Third-quarter contributions include $6,000 from NC Realtors PAC, $2,000 from the NC Home Builders Association, $1,000 from pastor Robert Campbell, $1,000 from former endowment board member Hannah Gage, and $1,000 from Cape Fear Commercial co-founder Vin Wells.
Barfield’s campaign spent $49,600 on billboard advertisements, ads, and banners with Wilmington-based Colonial Marketing Group and $1,600 on compliance services with Wilmington-based New Season Consulting.
Hinnant raised the second highest sum this campaign season of $90,053. Third quarter donors include $6,000 from NC Realtors PAC, $5,000 from the New Hanover County GOP, $3,000 from Tim Milam, $2,500 from Bill Clark Homes president Edward Clark, $2,000 from the NC Home Builders Association.
Notable expenditures include $35,000 for media buys with Charleston-based Push Digital and $5,181 to accountant Cindy Kuhne, who also served as treasurer for Lee’s campaign.
Cassidy Santaguida raised a total of $65,137. Top donors include $4,750 from Linkedin content strategy manager Kathleen Jones, $4,000 from film producer Beth Crookham, and $4,125 from physician and CFPUA board member Jessica Cannon.
Santaguida’s campaign spent a total $62,242, including $23,882 for print and mail flyers with Asheville-based Media Corporation and $11,664 on TV ads with Wilmington-based 40 East Advertising. The candidate spent $2,000 on sign placement services with South Bridge Political Partners, a political consulting firm co-founded by former Cape Fear Housing Coalition chair Clayton Hamerski and Mocksie Craft Cocktails CEO Carter Jewell.
School board
Tim Merrick received $45,613 in total donations. Top third quarter contributions include $1,000 from Ken Maruyama, $500 from Mary Karathanasis, $500 from Robert McCord, and $500 from Randy Peebles.
Natosha Tew raised $24,900 for the election, half of which came in the third quarter. Tew’s third quarter disclosure with the New Hanover Board of Elections does not contain specific donors.
Judy Justice and Jerry Jones Jr’s third quarter reports are not yet published on the county site.
David Perry raised a total of $20,112. Notable donors include $3,500 from the New Hanover County Republican Party, $1,000 from Orscheln Farm and home customer service representative Deborah Brown, and $500 from board of elections member Bruce Kemp.
Nikki Bascome raised a total of $29,506, $18,330 of which came in the third quarter. Notable donors in her most recent filing include $5,000 from New Hanover County Republican Party, $2,500 from Griffin Estep president Henry Estep, $1,000 from McAdams Homes owner Adam Sosne, and $500 from Tim Milam.
[Correction: An earlier version of this article reported Nikki Bascome’s third quarter donations rather than her overall election total. PCD regrets this error.]
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