Republican Pat McCrory entered the governor's race Tuesday with a significant financial advantage, starting with $2 million in the bank, as the Democratic field remains fluid after Gov. Bev Perdue's exit.
McCrory, the former longtime Charlotte mayor, ended 2011 with three of his best fundraising months thanks to help from GOP all-star Govs. Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal, both of whom came to North Carolina to raise money for him.
The campaign's 4,200-plus contributions in the final six months of the year generated about $1.6 million with an average contribution of $370, according to campaign-finance data made available this week. For the entire year, about 75 percent of McCrory's money came in contributions of less than $500.
"We laid out a pretty aggressive plan, and we are sticking to it," said Jonathan Brooks, the campaign's fundraiser.
Before quitting the race, Perdue raised about $1.4 million in the most recent reporting period, with about 3,100 donors giving an average $440, reports showed. Perdue finished the year with $2 million in cash, matching McCrory, but at this point in the 2008 election cycle, she had $4.6 million on hand.
Perdue's fundraising played a role in her decision not to seek re-election, aides said, as her poor poll numbers hurt the campaign's ability to raise money and some of her donors began defecting to McCrory. But the numbers give no indication of her forthcoming decision. December was her campaign's second strongest month, with about $490,000 raised, reports show.
Under state law, Perdue can give her remaining money to other candidates and committees, return the donations or make charitable contributions. The campaign also owes her and her husband $826,500 in outstanding loans.
The second half of 2011 was the first reporting period ever in which McCrory topped Perdue's fundraising.
McCrory still has a long way to go before matching the nearly $18 million haul that helped put Perdue in the governor's mansion or the $6.5 million he received in 2008. But he began raising money for his gubernatorial bid a year ago and is now well ahead of his previous campaign at this point.
With Perdue out of the election, McCrory's team is reassessing its strategy and fundraising goals. His aides believe it will be hard for Democrats to match McCrory's war chest in the near future. "If we don't have a competitive primary and (Democrats) do, it's a distinct advantage to us," Brooks said.
The two announced Democratic candidates for governor - Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and state Rep. Bill Faison - are just beginning to raise money for their campaigns. Dalton starts with about $600,000 in the bank, and Faison recently loaned his campaign $500,000, reports show.
McCrory has spent about $500,000 since July, with a large portion paying consulting fees to political advisers and fundraisers. His other major costs included campaign staff, travel and fundraising expenses. He also bought a campaign vehicle.
The campaign paid $15,842.45 to the Republican Governors Association to cover the cost of renting a private jet to fly Jindal, the Louisiana governor, to Charlotte for a Dec. 7 fundraiser. The campaign said it was a last-minute arrangement. The event raised about $100,000, aides said.
By comparison, the Christie fundraiser brought in about $275,000 and apparently cost nothing because the New Jersey governor stopped on his way to an RGA fundraiser in Florida.
Perdue's campaign spent more than $255,000 on consultants and pollsters in the last reporting period, far more than McCrory. She also paid about $46,000 to four different law firms for what is listed as "professional services."
Perdue's travel - which has received scrutiny after her 2008 campaign failed to properly report private flights - appears minimal since July. She reimbursed the state about $56,000, paying half the cost of her official state travel when the trip included a campaign event, per state law.
One trip in particular cost thousands: On Sept. 30, Perdue flew on a state helicopter to tour areas damaged a month earlier by Hurricane Irene and then flew to a pre-scheduled fundraiser. The trip, along with travel on three days in October, cost $22,143, records show.
