Republican House candidate George Holding has raised $462,500 - nearly four times as much as chief rival Paul Coble has raised, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. Holding loaned his campaign $130,000 and raised the rest through contributions.
Holding, a former U.S. attorney, has been spending his money on a TV advertising campaign to make himself better known to voters in the 13th Congressional District. At the end of the year, he reported having $103,030 cash on hand.
Among Holding's contributors are former Sen. Lauch Faircloth ($2,000), former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot ($200), Charlotte businessman Alan Dickson ($500), Irwin and Carl Belk of Charlotte ($250 each), Raleigh restaurant owner Van Eure ($150), retired utility executive Sherwood Smith ($500), retired banker John Medlin of Winston-Salem ($250), developer Charles Shelton ($1,000), Mike and Bridget Bender of Velocity Solutions in Wilmington ($5,000), Christine Mumma, N.C. Center on Actual Innocence ($1,000), Raleigh businessman and author Garland Tucker ($1,000), retired insurance executive Peyton Woodson III ($1,000), and the Leo Daughtry for House Committee ($1,000).
Coble, a Wake County commissioner, reported raising $133,991 and having $68,515 on hand. He has received the support of some major business and political figures in Raleigh.
Businessman Art Pope and his wife, Katherine, gave $5,000; Captive Aire executive Bob Luddy and his wife, Maria, gave $5,000; former Wake County commissioner Gary Pendleton gave $1,250; Clinton agribusinessman William Prestage gave $2,000; K.D. Kennedy, president of an electrical supply company, gave $2,500; construction company executive Fred Mills Jr. gave $2,500 and Fred Mills Sr. gave $2,500; Anthony Civello, CEO of Kerr Drugs, gave $2,500; Kate Fetzer, wife of former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer, gave $1,000; Dot Helms, widow of the late Sen. Jesse Helms, gave $500; real estate developer John Kane gave $2,500; Robert Barnett, president of BTC Electronics, gave $2,500; builder Tim Clancy gave $2,500; builder Lyle Gardner gave $2,500; and attorney Kieran Shanahan gave $2,500.
Burr has Lejeune questions
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is raising concerns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding studies being conducted on the effects of water contamination at Marines base Camp Lejeune. U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, and Rep. Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, joined Burr in signing a letter expressing concern.
Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, said he learned of correspondence by the Marine Corps to the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry asking that the agency redact the locations of Camp Lejeune's water system infrastructure because of national security concerns. Burr said the information has been publicly available for several years, "and it is unclear why it suddenly became a security threat."
"I fear that removing this information may jeopardize ongoing and future studies of the water contamination at Camp Lejeune, and also worry that this sets a dangerous precedent of withholding information from scientific studies for reasons of national security without adequate legal justification," he said.
Abramoff to speak at Peace
Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Washington lobbyist, will speak next week at William Peace University.
Abramoff, who wrote a book about corruption in Washington, will discuss his story and the state of lawmaking in the nation's capital. His speech will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Kenan Recital Hall. It is free and open to the public. Abramoff also will appear the day before at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. The event is co-hosted by the university and the N.C. Center for Voter Education.
