In NC race for Senate, one Democrat had a winning quarter

North Carolina’s three most well-funded Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate released fundraising totals this week, revealing that one — Cheri Beasley — far out-raised her competition.

Beasley, the former state Supreme Court chief justice, will report raising $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2021, according to her campaign. She outpaced state Sen. Jeff Jackson, who will report raising more than $900,000 in the third quarter, his campaign said.

Former state Sen. Erica Smith’s campaign says the candidate raised $128,000 in the third quarter.

The fundraising totals provide a glimpse into the current stage of the campaign. Candidates have been on the trail, with both Smith and Jackson completing 100-county tours in 100 days. Beasley, meanwhile, has racked up valuable endorsements and secured more money than any other candidate in a single quarter so far.

While Jackson has raised more overall, Beasley has far out-raised him in the past two quarters.

“With her showing this past quarter, it does feel like she can claim front-runner status just based on dollar amounts,” said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College.

At this stage of the primary race, candidates want to send “clear signals about front-runner status,” he said. Fundraising is one of the most effective ways to do that.

Republican candidates have not yet released their fundraising totals. The campaign finance quarterly reports are due Oct. 15.

State of the race

The candidates are vying for the seat of Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, who is not running for reelection. Who wins will play a key role in which party controls the Senate for the remainder of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Primary elections are scheduled for March, with a general election in November 2022.

Beasley was also the top fundraiser in quarter two, and her campaign said she would report doubling its amount of cash-on-hand to nearly $1.7 million for quarter three.

Her endorsements include those of U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, who represents Charlotte, EMILY’s List and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. With the quarter three fundraising numbers, her total will increase to about $2.75 million.

“North Carolinians are throwing their support behind Cheri because they know that she’s the candidate who can win and will deliver real progress for our state,” Travis Brimm, her campaign manager, said in a statement.

Neither Jackson nor Beasley have given loans to their own campaigns, and both campaigns say third quarter reports will again show that.

Jackson, a 39-year-old lawmaker with a commanding social media presence, has drawn crowds at universities, cities and in small towns along the campaign trail. In total, he has raised nearly $3 million.

His campaign has been bolstered by more than $1 million in smaller donations — those under $200 — leading up to the third quarter. Beasley received about $278,000 from smaller donations before the third quarter.

“Jeff has nearly raised $3 million — the most money in the race — by barnstorming the state with 125 town halls and building the energy on the ground that Democrats need to flip this seat,” Max Glass, Jackson’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “We’re following Georgia’s example of organizing early and we’ve already contacted more than 500,000 voters. That’s the biggest difference between campaigns in this race.”

Of the three most well-funded candidates, Smith has raised the least. She raised about $225,000 in the first two quarters, along with $85,000 in loans to her campaign. She will report raising another $128,000 for the third quarter.

Smith came in second during the 2020 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, receiving about 35% of the vote.

“We’re excited to have already raised almost twice as much as what Senator Smith raised all of last cycle when she won nearly half a million votes,” Morris Katz, Smith’s campaign adviser, said in a statement. “We don’t feel like we need to raise the most money, we just need to raise enough, and we’re doing that. We know that to win in March we’re going to have to keep growing and keep expanding and we believe that we’re in position to do that.”

Other Democrats include Beaufort Mayor Rett Newton, who raised about $95,000 in the second quarter with an additional loan of $17,000; and Richard Watkins, a virologist from Chapel Hill, who has raised about $33,000 with an additional $5,400 loan.

This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 11:44 AM.

Will Wright

The Charlotte Observer

Will Wright covers politics in Charlotte and North Carolina. He previously covered eastern Kentucky for the Lexington Herald-Leader, and worked as a reporting fellow at The New York Times.