Hampton Dellinger has more than a half million in cash on hand.
The Raleigh attorney and former legal counsel to Gov. Mike Easley reported that he has over $520,000 on hand for his bid for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, Rob Christensen reports.
He raised the money with the help of some high profile individuals including historian John Hope Franklin, author Frances Mayes, jazz musician Branford Marsalis, and defense attorney Wade Smith.
One of his chief rivals, state Sen. Walter Dalton, a Rutherfordton attorney, had earlier reported that he had $570,000 cash on hand at the end of the first six months of 2007. Dalton's backers include former Charlotte Mayor John Belk, former Democratic kingmaker Bert Bennett, and Frank Daniels, former publisher of The News and Observer.
Winston-Salem City Councilman Dan Besse, another Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, reported having $101,600 on hand.
Comments
Responding to Responses
July 5, 2007 - 4:57pm — heagartyNo one outside of Raleigh, or the respective hometowns of the potential candidates, knows much about ANY of these candidates.
For that matter, no one in North Carolina knows much about the INCUMBENT council of state members.
As far as money goes, you can't always buy your election, but money sure helps. Of course it matters. Money is also a good indicator of support if it represents a lot of donations, not just a few large ones.
With a long ten months before the primary, it's pretty significant that all three candidates have raised so much. Dalton and Dellinger have already raised more than what some incumbent council of state members spent on their entire campaigns in 2004(more than Troxler, Berry, Marshall, Merritt, Atkinson, or Long), and that Besse has already cleared the $100K hurdle.
Dalton's Record
July 5, 2007 - 2:59pm — SenateAlone should be enough to assure Dellinger or Beese's nomination. He's knee deep in the cess pool that is the General Assembly. He couldn't walk out and leave the corruption behind, it will stick.
Are any Republicans being mentioned as possible candidates?
Re: Dellinger's money
July 5, 2007 - 6:23am — UniqueMaterialDoes his money matter when he has so little name recognition across the state?
Sure - some people have heard of him - even *I* have heard of him. Sorry, Hampton. You need to make more noise because at the end of the day -
It's not always all about the money. The news just makes it seem that way.