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This year's Triangle congressional races underscored the importance of money in political campaigns.

Fourth District Democratic incumbent David Price out spent his Republican challenger B.J. Lawson by $1.3 million to $465,127 and 13th Democratic Rep. Brad Miller out spent his GOP challenger $881,961 to $197,456, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that monitors campaign finance.

Neither race was close.

Only in the second district, was the race competitive – and so was the money. Republican Renee Ellmers raised $1.1 million and spent $700,000 compared to Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge who raised $1.3 million and spent $1.8 million., according to the center. Ellmers, of course, upset Etheridge.

About $359,000 of the money spent on behalf of Ellmers was an independent TV campaign run by a conservative group out of the Washington D.C. area called Americans for Job Security.

Price's biggest category of contributors came from lawyers($63,777), education ($54,645), pharmaceuticals/health products($38,450), public sector unions ($37,000) defense electronics ($26,000) industrial unions ($25,000) defense aerospace ($21,000)  and business services ($20,950) according to the center.

Miller's biggest contributions came from lawyers ($107,850) insurance ($54,500), industrial unions ($45,000) public sector unions ($41,000) real estate ($34,149) securities and investment ($28,500) and building trade unions ($20,500,) according to the center.

A major difference between incumbents and non incumbents is money from political action committees, which heavily favor incumbents.  Price received $436,250 from PACs, while Lawson received $9,425. Miller received $448,300 from PACs, while Randall received $7,400.

VOTING MACHINE COMPLAINTS: The chairman of the N.C. Republican Party alleged Thursday that a programming flaw with touch-screen voting machines is causing votes intended for GOP candidates to be counted for Democrats. Tom Fetzer, the Republican chairman, said that if the State Board of Elections does not immediately remedy the problem, the party's lawyers will be in federal court today seeking a statewide injunction. (N&O)

HOUSE DISTRICT 13: A seasoned Democratic incumbent is squaring off in the state's 13th U.S. House District against a political newcomer with tea party ties. Rep. Brad Miller has represented the district since it was created in 2002. A Raleigh lawyer, Miller was born in Fayetteville and is fond of recounting his Eastern North Carolina roots. His Republican challenger, William "Bill" Randall, moved to the state about two years ago after spending 27 years in the Navy and working in the private sector in Wisconsin. (N&O)

NAACP CONDEMNS GOP MAILER: The leader of the North Carolina branch of the NAACP is calling on the state Republican Party to denounce an inaccurate mailer attacking Democrats, saying the ad is racist. The Rev. William Barber, the state's NAACP chairman, spoke Thursday outside the headquarters of the N.C. Republican Party to demand the "repudiation and retraction" of a mailer targeting Democratic legislators over their support for the Racial Justice Act. (N&O)

Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge will debate his Republican challenger Renee Ellmers on Saturday on NBC-17. The 2nd district debate, which will be aired from 2-3, will be moderated by political reporter anchor Kim Genardo.

Immediately following the debate, 13th District Democratic Rep. Brad Miller will debate his Republican rival, Bill Randall from 3-4 on NBC-17.

The next weekend, on Sunday Oct. 31st, Democratic Congressman David Price will debate his challenger B.J. Lawson at 2 p.m. in the 4th district race. All the debates will be moderated by Genardo.

All the debates will also be available at NBC 17's website: mync.com under politics.

Democratic Congressman Brad Miller has a huge money advantage over his Republican challenger Bill Randall, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Miller had $441,393 in his campaign kitty as of Sept. 30th, compared to $23,084 for Randall. Randall also reported having $43,822 in campaign debts, while Miller reported having $14,007 in campaign debts

Overall, Miller has reported raising $805,072 for his campaign while Randall reported raising $165,548 for his campaign including money he raised in his hard-fought primary. Randall was a Tea Party candidate, but there is little evidence that he has received any help from his national political party which apparently does not see the 13th House district as a winnable target.

Miller has benefited from incumbency receiving nearly half of his money($388,700) from political action committees.

A week after a Republican "Fire Pelosi" bus tour rolls through North Carolina, Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself comes to South Carolina.

Pelosi, of San Francisco, will speak to the Charleston NAACP on Sept. 25, reports Jim Morrill of the Charlotte Observer.

Tomorrow, GOP chairman Michael Steele will be in Raleigh to join area Republican candidates for U.S. House B.J. Lawson and Bill Randall. They're calling the event the "Fire Pelosi" tour. Steele will also attend a Republican rally in Fayetteville tomorrow.

Pelosi has been red meat for Republicans. Recent national polls put Congressional job approval as low as 21 percent.

While Republicans Bernie Reeves and Bill Randall will be working the polls on election day, Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Brad Miller will be raking in the campaign contributions on Capitol Hill.

Miller, the 13th district congressman, has scheduled a fundraising lunch for Tuesday at the National Democratic Club Townhouse, Rob Christensen reports. The ticket price is between between $500 and $2,000 per person.

That's the same day that Reeves and Randall face each other in a rough GOP primary runoff. Miller will almost certainly start his race against his Republican opponent with a substantial money advantage.

Reeves has raised $244,081 and Randall has raised $70,845. But as of June 2nd, Reeves had only $27,843 cash on hand and $44,907 in debts and Randall had $3,995 cash on hand and $34,624 in debts according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Miller, meanwhile has raised $478,523 and had $289,462 on hand with $14,006 in debts, as of April 14th, according to the FEC.

William "Bill" Randall is trying to distance himself from his earlier suggestion that the federal government and BP colluded to intentionally cause the Gulf spill oil, even as he simultaneously stands by what he said.

The Republican congressional candidate called a media conference Thursday after video of his earlier statements had gone viral on the internet, reposted by media outlets and left-leaning bloggers across the country.

His opponent in the June 22 GOP primary runoff, Bernie Reeves, has also sought to make political hay from Randall's conspiracy theory about the explosion of the Deep Water Horizon rig, which resulted in 11 deaths and the worst environmental calamity in U.S. history.

Standing at a lectern outside the doors of a church, Randall, who has aligned himself with the Tea Party movement, began by reading a prepared statement.

"I would like to set the record straight on my position with respect to this disaster," Randall said, reading from the text. "First and foremost, I have not and still do not accuse any person or entity, private or government, of wrongdoing. Speculation is one thing. Accusations are entirely different."

So, Dome asked, does he want to back away from his earlier statement suggesting the Obama Administration and BP spilled oil on purpose?

"I don't want to back away from any call for a thorough investigation into this situation," Randall replied. "I think that we have a responsibility to do that, and anything short of that is not serving the American people."

So does Randall believe the federal government intentionally spilled the oil?

"Sir, I don't think you can take anything from my statement that indicates that," Randall said.

On Tuesday, Randall was asked if he supported President Obama's six-month moratorium on new deep water drilling for a safety review in wake of the disaster.

"Personally, and this is purely speculative on my part and not based on any fact, but personally I feel there is a possibility that there was some sort of collusion," Randall said. "I don't know how or why, but in that situation, if you have someone from a company proposing to violate the safety process and the government signing off on it, excuse me, maybe they wanted it to leak. But then it got beyond what was anticipated."

Asked Thursday if he had misspoken or if he felt his earlier statement had been misconstrued, Randall said: "My statements are a matter of record. If you want to review them and derive whatever conclusion you want to derive, you are free to do that."

Randall then began reading again verbatim from his prepared remarks.

Bill Randall and Bernie Reeves are going to debate.

Randall and Reeves are runoff candidates for the 13th Congressional District seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Miller. The debate, which is sponsored by the Republican Thirteenth Congressional District and the Northern Wake Republican Club, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 13.

The debate will be held at Newton Square, 230 Newton Road and will feature an optional catered dinner for $13. Organizers are asking those who plan to attend to register. Those who aren't eating are asked for a $4 donation to cover expenses.

Bill Randall, a Wake Forest businessman and a retired Navy veteran, plans to run against Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Miller.

“I pledge to work to stop the attack on our Constitution and government attempts to (take) control of our lives, businesses and finances,” Randall said at a news conference held in front of Miller's district office in Raleigh.

Randall will face publisher Bernie Reeves in a May GOP primary.

Miller, a former state legislator, was first elected to the 13th Congressional District seat in 2002.

Randall, who grew up in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, spent 27 years in the Navy, rising to become Command Master Chief, Rob Christensen reports. Since retiring from the Navy, Randall said he has worked as a business management consultant and in insurance.

He became known in Tar Heel political circles when he ran last spring for state GOP chairman. He was visible in a number of Tea Party rallies held this summer.

Bill Randall, an unsuccessful candidate for state GOP chairman, plans to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh next year.

Randall, 42, a retired Navy meteorologist from Wake Forest, plans to announce his candidacy July 1, reports Rob Christensen.

“I believe the current representative is out of touch,” Randall said. “With his voting record he does not represent the average constituent in the district along with the so-called stimulus plan.”

Randall moved to North Carolina last fall and became involved as a volunteer in the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

He became known in GOP circles across the state when he campaigned for party chairman.

Miller, a four-term Democrat, has never had a close race in the Democratic-leaning 13th District, which starts in Raleigh and arcs northward along the Virginia border before ending in Greensboro.