New FEC Reports Show U.S. Sen. Richard Burr with $5 Million Cash Advantage; Ross Well Behind Former Sen. Kay Hagan This morning’s release of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr’s midyear campaign-finance report reveals a $5 million Cash on Hand advantage over Democratic rival Deborah Ross. The midyear campaign-finance report filed by Deborah Ross (D-Wake), shows a
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New FEC Reports Show U.S. Sen. Richard Burr with $5 Million Cash Advantage; Ross Well Behind Former Sen. Kay Hagan
This morning’s release of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr’s midyear campaign-finance report reveals a $5 million Cash on Hand advantage over Democratic rival Deborah Ross.
The midyear campaign-finance report filed by Deborah Ross (D-Wake), shows a total of $3,977,866 raised, with $1,909,177 Cash on Hand. Burr, a Forsyth County Republican, reported $8,309,160 raised and $6,953,253 Cash on Hand.
To put Ross’ fundraising totals in perspective, former US Senator Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) had four times the total Cash on Hand ($8,729,330) at the midyear mark in 2014. But to be fair, that’s simply a reflection of the power of incumbency, the bane of all challengers.
In 2014, when all was said and done, former US Senator Kay Hagan had raised $22,520,800, and still lost to Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg), who raised $11,000,378.
In addition to Hagan’s $22.5 million raised, she benefited from another $7.3 million spent on positive ads on her behalf by outside groups, and another $31.6 million spent by outside groups attacking Republican challenger Thom Tillis.
Will outside groups spend tens of millions of dollars on Ross’ behalf in 2016?
Sen. Richard Burr defeated Secretary of State Elaine Marshall in 2010 by 54.8% to 43%. That margin of victory is a significant indicator of his strength as a campaigner. It will take tens of millions of dollars on Ross’ behalf to defeat an incumbent as influential and effective as Burr.
If Kay Hagan, an incumbent U.S. Senator with a 2-to-1 fundraising advantage and $40 million in outside support in 2014, can’t fend off a Republican challenger, then maybe North Carolina is not the fertile ground for a 2016 U.S. Senate seat pickup that Democrats had hoped.
IMPLICATIONS: The disappointment among Democrats in 2014 over the loss of the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, the most expensive in the United States with $113.5 million total dollars spent, is likely chilling the fundraising efforts of Democrat Deborah Ross in 2016.
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JDPR TrendLines is an executive summary feature of the John Davis Political Report. The objective is to provide readers timely assessments of the political implications of the latest opinion polls and breaking news.
