George Holding’s challenger Linda Coleman hasn’t revealed required financial information
Linda Coleman, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House in North Carolina’s 2nd District, has not filed a required personal financial disclosure form, nearly eight months after it was due.
Candidates are required to file financial disclosure reports with the House clerk after they raise $5,000 — a figure Coleman, a former Wake County commissioner, state lawmaker and two-time Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, surpassed last year. The disclosure reports include information on the source, type, amount and value of incomes, and they are publicly available on the web.
The chairman of the Wake County Republican Party filed an ethics complaint with the House last month over Coleman’s lack of a filing.
“The public has a right to know what is going on with their candidates. This isn’t dog catcher. This is Congress. It’s serious,” said Charles Hellwig, the chairman of the Wake County GOP. “The voters should know what your financial ties are. That’s why the law exists.”
According to the House Committee on Ethics, the failure to file a statement can be pursued by the attorney general and can carry a fine of up to $59,028 and/or a year in prison. A fine of $200 “shall be assessed” to anyone who files more than 30 days late, according to language on the financial disclosure form.
On Nov. 14, Coleman signed a pledge to file the financial disclosure form. “I understand that when I do raise or spend in excess of $5,000 for my campaign, I must file a Financial Disclosure Statement with the Clerk or the House of Representatives,” the form reads.
Email and phone messages left with the Coleman campaign were not returned.
Coleman reported raising $158,303 between April 1 and June 30, pushing her total fundraising to $298,223 for the race. Incumbent Rep. George Holding has raised more than $1.85 million for the campaign and has been airing ads throughout the summer. He raised more than $304,000 in the quarter. Holding, a three-term congressman, won re-election in 2016 with more than 56 percent of the vote.
Coleman has said she believes the race will cost her campaign between $2 million and $2.5 million.
“It should not because it’s insane,” she said last winter. “I think that’s what keeps a lot of good people out of races because you spend all of your time on the phone trying to raise money and you don’t get a chance to meet face-to-face with the people you hope to represent, which should be the priority.”
The 2nd District includes parts or all of Franklin, Harnett, Johnston, Nash, Wake and Wilson counties.
At least 50 Democratic House challengers have raised more than incumbent Republicans. Two North Carolina Democratic candidates seeking GOP-held seats — Dan McCready and Kathy Manning — have outraised their Republican counterparts by 2-to-1 margins and elevated those races to national prominence.
Disclosure forms are available for every other Republican and Democratic nominee in November’s election except for Republican challenger Paul Wright, who is running against incumbent Alma Adams in the 12th district which includes most of Mecklenburg County. It is not clear if Wright has raised the $5,000 required to file the form.