Walter Dalton raises $1 million in second quarter, faces huge deficit to McCrory

Democrat Walter Dalton raised $1 million in the latest campaign finance period -- but he starts the final months of the gubernatorial campaign in a huge deficit compared to Republican Pat McCrory.

Dalton's campaign reported $714,000 in campaign coffers starting July 1. He raised a total of $2.5 million since launching his campaign at the 11th hour thanks to Gov. Bev Perdue's late decision not to seek re-election. But Dalton spent $1.8 million so far to survive the Democratic primary.

The report covers April 20 through June 30 and it's unclear how much he raised since the primary ended May 8.

McCrory reported raising $2.2 million in the same period and sits with $4.4 million in his campaign account. Dalton essentially finds himself in McCrory's shoes circa-2008, when McCrory lost to Perdue. At this point in 2008, McCrory raise just shy of $1 million and had $726,000 on hand.

“We are pleased that the campaign raised more than a million dollars from all parts of our state,” said Dalton's campaign manager Caroline Valand said in a statement. “Walter Dalton has shown his ability to win a competitive primary in a compressed calendar and then immediately switch gears to the general election campaign. At the same time, Pat McCrory has been running for Governor--again--for the past four years. We’re pleased with the support Walter Dalton is getting and the momentum he is building everyday for what will be a close, hard-fought, and victorious campaign.”

The remark prompted a reply from McCrory's campaign spokesman Brian Nick: "It's not surprising that it's hard to raise campaign funds as a candidate running to continue the failed policies of Governor Perdue.  North Carolinians are hungry for a change of leadership and are looking for an outsider to come in and fix the state's broken government and broken economy."